The Guardians
by Tara Layne
Summary: Harry and Company meet some mysterious new friends, discover a task they must perform, and find themselves part of an ancient legend from a most ancient place. Please R & R
1. New Year, New Friends

Harry was finally on his way back to school. It had been an awful summer, what with the fear spreading throughout the wizarding world, and having to stay at the Dursleys. He had met Ron and Hermione at platform 9 3/4 and after long hugs (with Hermione) and handshakes (with Ron); they were once again climbing aboard the Hogwarts Express. They found the only semi-empty compartment on the train and reluctantly entered.  
  
As they stowed their things, Harry said to the others, "You know, the last time we shared a compartment with a sleeping stranger, they turned out to be a werewolf, and a friend of my parents."  
  
Ron glanced at the young woman. "Too young to be a friend of your parents. In fact, she looks to be the same age as the twins."  
  
"I've never seen her before, but she's wearing Gryffindor colors," said Hermione from the doorway. She was setting up warning and protection spells all around the compartment. "Maybe she's the new DADA teacher."  
  
"Nah. Ron's right. She's to young for that." Harry said as he sat down across from Ron. Hermione sat beside Ron. And they all looked at the sleeping young woman. She was sitting next to the window; her cloak tucked around her and the hood pulled down. All they could see was a long auburn braid that was draped over her shoulder. There was a book face down on her lap, but the title wasn't visible.  
  
The edges of the door glowed red just before it slid open to reveal, Malfoy and company. "How was your summer Potter? Do you think Azkaban Prison will be nice? Because that's where you're going very soon now," Malfoy sneered. Crabbe and Goyle smiled foolishly. Ron was shaking with rage, Hermione was open-mouthed in shock, and Harry was white-lipped with fury.  
  
"That's quite enough young man," said a quiet voice behind Harry. The young woman was standing now, but even Hermione was taller than she was. Auburn curls had escaped her braid and framed a heart-shaped face; her eyes flashed green fire. "If it's possible to lose points for your house before you get to school, I'll see it done," she said.  
  
Malfoy's face was even paler than usual. "Now leave!" She ordered firmly. Without another word, they fled. The door slid shut and the edges glowed green once again. Only then did she sit back down. Quite suddenly she laughed. Bright, silvery laughter filled the compartment.  
  
Harry Ron and Hermione all looked at each other, then Ron asked, "What was funny about that?"  
  
The laughter quieted and the woman said, "I'm sorry, it's just that I've never called anyone young man before and then his face... It was priceless." She collapsed into giggles again.  
  
Ron and Hermione grinned finally, but Harry just stared at the woman, his face pale. Trying to gain control of herself, the woman looked over at him and sobered immediately.  
  
"Your not actually paying attention to what that mangy git said, are you?" she asked.  
  
"No... It's just that you remind me of someone."  
  
"Oh really? Who?"  
  
"My mother." Ron and Hermione stared at Harry and then looked at the woman again. She was grinning.  
  
"Well, I've never been compared to somebody's mother before," Then she saw their faces. "What?"  
  
Harry swallowed. "My mother's dead."  
  
"Oh dear. I'm so sorry." Her eyes widened in sympathy. They matched Harry's perfectly.  
  
"I've mostly only seen pictures, but people say I have her eyes." He said quietly.  
  
She blinked. Her eyes were no longer green. They were now a warm honey color. "There. Is this better?"  
  
"How did you do that?" Hermione asked.  
  
"It's just a reflex action. I have any powerful emotion and my eyes change color. But normally they're like this," the woman answered. After a moment, of silence she exclaimed, "Oh. I never introduced myself. I'm Rose Jameson. And you would be Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter."  
  
"Well, of course you knew Harry, but how do you know us?" Ron asked. He looked over at Hermione, who looked just as surprised.  
  
Rose smiled. "Ron, you are the best Wizard Chess player at Hogwarts. Hermione, you are the cleverest witch in your class. But you Harry, I only figured out because the pale guy called you Potter, and there's only one Potter at Hogwarts. It's really wonderful to meet you all." She paused a moment. "I'm buying chocolate frogs for everyone from the food cart. You all look a bit peckish."  
  
Exactly a minute later, the witch with the food cart showed up. The door slid open still glowing green. Rose bought the frogs and then everyone got whatever else they wanted. Before the door had shut behind her, a hand slid it open again. Two redheaded boys stepped in.  
  
"Oy Ron, we just saw Malfoy at the front of the train," said one.  
  
"He looked terrified and angry all at the same time," said the other.  
  
"Rose?" asked the first, staring at her.  
  
"But we thought you left for good, years ago," the second added.  
  
"Why Fred and George Weasley! I'm flattered that you remember me!" Rose exclaimed, grinning at them.  
  
"What are you doing on the train?" asked Fred.  
  
"It's a surprise," Rose answered, her golden eyes glinting mischievously.  
  
They blinked at her. Then George really looked at Harry. "Hey Harry, are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine. You two got any new tricks?" Harry asked, changing the subject.  
  
The twin grinned at each other. "Of course," they said together.  
  
"But we're not sharing yet," added Fred.  
  
Rose laughed. "You two haven't changed a bit."  
  
"Nope. They've only gotten more so," Ron muttered. Everyone, except the twins, laughed. They just looked confused.  
  
"Well, we're gonna go. Lee wanted to show us something, before we got to school," George said when the laughter stopped.  
  
"Oh right," Fred said.  
  
"See you all at the banquet," George called as they left.  
  
Harry turned to Rose. "So... you used to go to Hogwarts, but you left."  
  
"You were a Gryffindor," Ron said.  
  
"And now you're back as some sort of teacher," Hermione finished.  
  
Rose smiled at them. "Not bad you three, but how'd you get the teacher bit Hermione?" Hermione pointed to the book beside Rose. It was now face-up and read TEACHER'S GUIDE. "Ahh. I see. I'm not telling you anything else. You'll find out everything you need to know at the welcoming feast." She frowned suddenly. "Has attendance gone down since I was here? Do you know?"  
  
"There are fewer new students this year, yes," Hermione answered, looking at Harry.  
  
"I see," Rose said, even though she obviously didn't. "We'll be at the school soon, so I think we ought to change, don't you? Hermione, you and I can go to the compartment next to this one. It's probably empty right now." She opened the door and motioned Hermione out ahead of her. The door slid shut behind them both.  
  
Ron turned to Harry. "So what do you think of her?"  
  
I feel like I know her from somewhere," Harry said from inside his robes.  
  
"I remember her now... she's the same age as the twins, but she left before you came to Hogwarts. You couldn't know her."  
  
"That's true I suppose," Harry muttered, fastening his robes. "Why do you think she left? And why would she come back?"  
  
In the compartment next door, Hermione asked, "Why'd you want to come out here? You're already in your robes."  
  
"I wanted to give them a chance to talk about me," Rose said easily. "You can go back and join them if you like."  
  
"Well, I really do have to change," Hermione said as she started doing so.  
  
"Do you have cat?" Rose asked, taking a seat.  
  
"Yes, why?"  
  
"You just seem like a cat person," Rose smiled at her.  
  
"Oh dear, I left him in his basket, in there with Ron and Harry!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly. She fastened her robes quickly and dashed out of the compartment. Rose looked after her for a moment before grinning and gazing out the window.  
  
Next door, Ron was saying, "I don't know Harry. I'm sure we'll get a chance to ask her." He looped his tie around his neck loosely.  
  
"You're probably right," Harry frowned. "Still, I feel like I've seen her somewhere before," he paused. "Do you hear a rumbling noise?"  
  
"It's just the train." Ron answered.  
  
"No, it's coming from under your seat." Harry bent down and looked under Ron's seat. "Oh, it's from this,"  
  
"Crookshanks!" Hermione yelled as she burst through the door. The basket in front of Harry's eyes burst its fastenings and a pumpkin-colored streak exploded into the compartment, yowling furiously.  
  
Hermione jumped around wildly, trying to catch the raging cat. Harry and Ron hit the floor, and waited. Harry was now looking under his own seat at a disturbingly familiar wiggling basket. Before he could stop to think about it, he dodged Hermione's feet, pulled out the basket and opened it.  
  
Another cat, the color of ashes jumped neatly out and onto the seat. A yowling Crookshanks barreled straight into it. After only a moment of confusion, both felines disentangled themselves and sat, staring at each other.  
  
Hermione collapsed onto Ron's seat exclaiming, "Well!"  
  
Getting up off the floor, Ron and Harry joined her. All three of them looked at the cats. Ron grinned and quipped, "That's the first time he's ever come to a stop without drawing blood." He grunted as Hermione elbowed him in the side. The cats lay down beside one another and stared at the people, sphinx-like.  
  
"Looks like they've decided to be friends," Harry remarked.  
  
"She must belong to Rose," Hermione said.  
  
Since the door was still open, Rose just walked in, saying, "She does actually. And has the dubious honor of being my Shadow. A highly unoriginal name I admit, but there you go." The cat blinked at her. Rose smiled a bit and sat down beside her cat.  
  
"It's not too bad a name," Ron said.  
  
"It makes sense," Hermione added.  
  
Rose looked at Harry. "Don't you have a remark to make about my cat?"  
  
"Sorry, I can't think of anything," Harry said blankly.  
  
"Exactly, there's not much one can say about a shadow." She smiled at the two cats. "Now, Crookshanks... that name has immense possibilities.  
  
Shadow suddenly stood up and meowed, looking harassed. Crookshanks stood, stepped around her and climbed onto Rose's lap. He went immediately to sleep. Shadow then turned her unblinking green eyes on Harry.  
  
"Harry, go sit over there," Hermione said. "I'm getting squashed into Ron."  
  
"And that's such a terrible thing?" Ron asked, sounding insulted.  
  
Harry moved as Hermione said, "It is when your elbow is digging into my ribs."  
  
"Oh. Sorry." And Ron moved his elbow. He did not however move over into the now vacant seat. Harry wondered quite suddenly what had happened between the two of them while he'd been stranded at the Dursleys. He looked over at Rose. She was looking at Ron and Hermione speculatively.  
  
Shadow climbed into Harry's lap and made herself comfortable. He petted her until her purr rivaled Crookshanks'. When he looked up again, Ron was back in his seat across from Rose. Harry smiled a little. "Interesting," he thought.  
  
The four of them sat in silence until the train reached Hogsmeade station. In the hustle and bustle of leaving the train, Harry lost sight of Rose, but Shadow followed him into the carriage that would take them to the school. Crookshanks had vanished, but Hermione did not seem worried.  
  
Surprisingly, Harry was not pulled aside to speak to any teachers. Instead, he was allowed to go straight to the Great Hall with the rest of the Gryffindors. As he took his seat next to Ron, Harry searched the Hall for Rose. Finally, he looked at the high table.  
  
There was Hagrid, grinning and waving, Dumbledore smiling at him kindly and of course Snape, glaring at him, Professor McGonagall was corralling the rather small group of first years. Suddenly, he felt a heavy weight hit his lap. He looked down at Crookshanks squashy face. The cat did not look like he was planning on moving any time soon. Shadow was no longer sitting at his feet. Harry patted Crookshanks absently as he watched the sorting.  
  
"The new class seems awfully small," Ron murmured to Harry.  
  
"Everyone is scared," Harry whispered back.  
  
"But Hogwarts is the safest place to be," Hermione said, "because of Dumbledore."  
  
Just as she said his name, the wizard in question stood up. "I have few start of term announcements to make." He smiled and it seemed to each student that his smile was just for him or her. He continued, "First, I'd like to welcome you all to Hogwarts. As usual, the forest is forbidden to all students. The caretaker, Mr. Filch has a few more items that are not allowed in the Hallways. To see the entire list, check the bulletin board outside his office." He seemed to be looking straight at the Weasley twins this time. There were a few chuckles around the hallway.  
  
"Also, we have two new staff members this year. Professor Jameson will be teaching Defense against the Dark Arts, and her sister Rose will be her teaching assistant. Ms. Jameson will also be observing several other classes as part of her own studies."  
  
Harry saw Rose then. She was standing to the right of the high table, next to a tall (in comparison) woman with rich blonde hair, and twinkling blue eyes. They looked nothing alike, but for their smiles which were exactly the same. They waved at everyone, and Professor Jameson took the empty chair at the high table. Rose moved to the Gryffindor table. Fred and George quickly made room for her between them.  
  
Dumbledore waved his hands and the feast began. As usual, the food was wonderful. Just as Ron, Hermione, Harry and Crookshanks were getting up to leave, the Jameson's approached. "May we speak with you three for a moment?" asked Rose.  
  
"Of course," Hermione said. They all moved to the side of the Hall, out of the path of the other students.  
  
"I'd like to follow your class tomorrow, if you don't mind," Rose said.  
  
"Why would we mind?" Ron returned. "You're practically a teacher after all." Harry nudged him. "I mean, of course you can, but what do we call you?"  
  
Professor Jameson broke in, "Ms Jameson of course." She grinned at her sister. "But only in a classroom setting."  
  
Rose pulled a face.  
  
"My sister Cora. And She's PROFESSOR Jameson in a class room setting." It was Cora's turn to pull a face.  
  
"Still haven't gotten used to that professor bit," she said. "Your first class is double potions with Slytherin, and then you all get to have class with me."  
  
Rose smiled. "I'll probably join in on your potions class."  
  
"Just don't sit next to Neville in there," Ron said.  
  
"Neville Longbottom? The boy who got his elbow stuck in the pudding during dinner?" Rose asked.  
  
"That's him," Harry said. "He's quite clumsy and it's worst in potions because he's terrified of Professor Snape.  
  
"Oh Neville isn't that bad," Hermione defended.  
  
"He tries hard but he's just hopeless in there," Ron said.  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," Rose said thoughtfully. "Good night you three. I'll see you in the Dungeons." She grinned. Ron and Hermione started to leave but Rose put a hand on Harry's shoulder, stopping him. He looked at her questioningly. "Don't be alarmed if Shadow shows up in your bedchamber. She seems to have claimed you. Do you mind?"  
  
"Not overly, but how will she find it?"  
  
Rose smiled. "She'll manage somehow. Good night."  
  
"Night." Harry called. He met Ron and Hermione at the doors and they continued to the Gryffindor Common room. Sure enough when he finally went up to bed, there was Shadow sitting statue-like on the foot of his bed.  
  
"Looks like you have a new friend," Ron laughed at he changed quickly for bed. Dean and Seamus were already asleep. Neville was nowhere to be found.  
  
"Yeah, Rose told me she would probably be here," Harry said. Climbing into bed he added to the cat, "So long as you don't hog the covers." If he hadn't known better, he would have thought Shadow laughed as he turned out the light. He fell asleep to the sound of her purring at his feet.

After a lovely breakfast, where they did not see Rose or Cora, Harry, Ron and Hermione went down into Snape's dungeons for potions.  
  
"Lovely way to start the year this," Ron remarked as they cautiously descended the dark, damp staircase.  
  
"It can't be helped," Hermione said. "We need the class to graduate."  
  
"That's not what I meant, "Ron said. He had to grab the railing with both hands then as he slipped on a slick spot. Only that chance grip kept them all from tumbling down the stairs and into the deepest dungeons as someone slammed into Harry from behind. He fell into Hermione, who in turn fell into Ron, who just barely managed to keep them all upright.  
  
"Oof!"  
  
"Oh!"  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
"Grunt!"  
  
Then swiftly turning around revealed... Rose. "Sorry you guys," she said, slightly breathless. "I was running late." She looked around and added, "This is ridiculous." Pulling out her wand, she whispered something Harry couldn't hear. The end of her wand erupted with a bright white light that sizzled and crackled like lightning.  
  
"Wow! What kind of spell is that?" Ron asked. Even Hermione looked amazed.  
  
"I've never read about a spell like that," she said puzzled.  
  
"Tell you later. Right now we've got to hurry!" Rose exclaimed as she rushed down the staircase. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed quickly to stay in the light.  
  
They had just slipped into their seats when Snape swooped in from his office. Rose was standing next to his podium, with the appearance of having been waiting there for quite some time. Instead of launching immediately into his lecture, Snape glared at Rose. "So I'm to have the Shadow first am I?"  
  
To the class' amazement, Rose smiled. "To a certain degree, yes. That's the name of my cat." She waved a hand around the room. "Now, where would you like me to sit?"  
  
"I'd prefer you to be in an entirely different room, but as that is not to be, perhaps over there," He pointed to a tall stool in the back corner. "Out of my way."  
  
Rose raised an eyebrow, but nodded and made her way through the dumbstruck students to her seat. She winked at Ron's open mouth and smiled a bit smugly at Malfoy. He sneered back.  
  
Rose stared at the extremely tall, rickety, splintery, stool. The seat was at least four feet off the ground. Next to it was a three and a half-foot tall desk. Smiling, she tapped each with her wand. The desk became a stool with a lovely blue velvet cushion, and the stool became a wide, smooth- topped desk. Nodding her head, she pulled out her parchment, quill and inkwell, and made herself comfortable. Snape was glaring and the students were gaping. "Sorry Professor," she said, "You were saying?" Rose knew perfectly well that he hadn't been saying anything, but the remark served to get the class back on track.  
  
About halfway through the class, Rose was hit by a severe coughing fit. It was so bad that she very nearly fell off her stool. The Slytherins snickered as she gasped for breath. She pulled out her wand.  
  
"Now Ms. Jameson," Snape started.  
  
"Imobulus!" Rose wheezed. Neville Longbottom became a very nervous statue.  
  
"Ms. Jameson, what do you think you are doing?" Snape asked frigidly.  
  
"Saving us all from a year-long nap," she replied, her voice still rough. She made her way to Neville's workstation. "Professor, I'd like your permission to work with Neville, away from the other students."  
  
"By all means, go ahead," Snape said. "But I must warn you that he is hopeless."  
  
Rose ignored him, but the Slytherin snickers became full-blown laughter as she levitated Neville and his cauldron to the back of the room. After a moment, Snape managed to regain control of the class. They continued with their potion making as Rose got Neville set up beside her desk. When Harry glanced back at her, she winked and he turned back to his own potion.  
  
Rose carefully plucked the dried nettles from Neville's stiff fingers. Only when they were safely back in their container, far from the bubbling cauldron did she tap Neville with her wand. He stared at her, bewildered and terrified.  
  
She smiled reassuringly. "Calm down Neville, I'm sorry for doing that to you, but I couldn't let you put more nettles in your potion. You had already put in too much. Don't you remember adding nettles already?"  
  
"No. Did I?" He asked. He looked dreadfully confused.  
  
"Yes Neville, you did. Can't you see that your potion is Much darker than everyone else's?"  
  
"Yes, but I didn't know why."  
  
"It's because of the nettles. Right now this potion is strong enough that a single sip would send a person to sleep for a week. If you had added more, the fumes alone would have knocked out the entire class for a year," Rose explained. Neville started shaking. She put a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right now. I'm going to send this to Madame Pomfrey with a warning label. It's too late to start a new batch now, but I'd be happy to work with you at another time. When would be good for you?" Rose smiled at him.  
  
"T-t-tomorrow night?" He stuttered.  
  
"Great! I'll set up a classroom for us and meet you at the Gryffindor common room tomorrow night after dinner."  
  
Neville nodded. They started cleaning up his things. Rose carefully bottled the potion. After putting a bright orange label on the outside of the bottle, she handed it carefully to Neville. The class was ending and most of the students had gone. She nodded at Neville and he fled the dungeons to head straight to Madame Pomfrey. Rose could see Harry Ron and Hermione cleaning up very slowly as Snape swept towards her.  
  
"Ms. Jameson, I will not tolerate such an interruption in my class again. Do you understand me?" He glared down at her.  
  
She glared right back. "What I understand sir, is that you ignore the Gryffindor students to such an extent that the entire class was almost sent to sleep for a year!" The first year student inside her that remembered being terrified of him was quaking in terror, but her seventeen year old self was full of righteous anger.  
  
Snape's voice went ice cold with rage. "How dare you speak to me in this manner! I'll be speaking to your sister about this."  
  
"You do that," Rose replied calmly. "Be sure and tell her the full story." She turned her back on him and glided from the room. As she past the trio, they grabbed their things and rushed after her.  
  
They found her sitting on the floor at the top of the stairs, her face in her hands. "Wow! I've never seen anyone stand up to Snape like that," Ron said grinning.  
  
Rose looked up quickly. Her eyes were blazing green orbs. Ron stopped grinning and backed up a step. So did Hermione and Harry. Rose blinked rapidly, the green faded to an odd mix of gold and green. "Sorry," she whispered. Then she narrowed her eyes at them. "If I EVER hear of any of you speaking to a teacher like that..." Her voice faded, but the point was made when her eyes turned green again briefly.  
  
The trio nodded affirmatively. Rose sighed and the green faded completely from her eyes. "It's a good thing that he can't take points from Gryffindor for things that I do. You'd be a hundred points behind already." She smiled. "Come on. I'm making us late again." She started down the hall.  
  
The three friends stayed a little behind her. "We have to have a meeting tonight," Harry whispered. "The Common Room, as soon as it's empty."  
  
"Yeah, I want to talk about our new friend," Ron said.  
  
Hermione spoke up, "You two are much too suspicious. Honestly." She sped up to walk beside Rose.  
  
They all rushed into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. As they slid into their seats the trio looked around the room.  
  
Just so you know, When I say the trio I mean Harry Ron and Hermione, I just didn't want to type all that. Going on...  
  
The room had been redecorated again. There were several odd boxes around the room with blue clothes draped over them. The pictures on the wall were quite varied. From a portrait of Rose and her sister that waved cheerfully at them all, to an odd poster with a kitten in a goldfish bowl and a huge Goldfish staring at it.  
  
Rose stood by the desk up front and waited. Professor Jameson rushed in. Rose grinned. "Hello Professor Jameson," she said, trying not to laugh.  
  
"Ms. Jameson, I'll speak with you later. Right now, don't you have work to do?" Cora asked, eyebrow raised at her sister.  
  
"Oh right. Sorry I forgot. See you later." With a wink at the trio and a cheerful wave, Rose was gone.  
  
"What was that all about?" Ron asked Harry.  
  
Harry shrugged. "I don't know."  
  
"You two had better hush," Hermione hissed.  
  
Cora was rummaging through cabinets and drawers all around the classroom. "What are you looking for Professor?" asked Seamus.  
  
"My wand seems to have disappeared," Cora said. "I'm trying to figure out where they've hidden it."  
  
"They?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yes they. I'll tell you about them later on in the class. Right now I'd like to hear about what you've learned so far." All this was said as she continued around the room. When she reached the front again, she stopped. "I guess I'll have to wait until they bring it back again." She leaned against her desk and surveyed the class. "Well? You must have learned something in the last four years."  
  
Hermione raised her hand of course, but surprisingly, so did Neville. After the Near catastrophe in Potions, the class hadn't expected him to say anything for the rest of the day. Cora smiled at him encouragingly.  
  
"We, we learned how to defeat boggarts with a Riddikulus spell," he said. The class chuckled in memory.  
  
"What's funny?" Cora asked.  
  
The laughter grew as Neville explained about Snape in the dress. A corner of the Professor's mouth turned up, but she managed to keep her amusement in inside. "Oh. Well," she cleared her throat. "What else have you covered?"  
  
The laughter seemed to have relaxed the class because examples came flying at her from all directions.  
  
"Grindywolds."  
  
"Banshees."  
  
"Vampires."  
  
"Trolls."  
  
"Unforgivable Curses."  
  
"Acromantulas."  
  
"Cornish Pixies."  
  
Professor Jameson took all this in, but the last remark by Hermione made her put up her hand for silence. It worked. "Pixies? Why on earth would you study Pixies in a DADA class?"  
  
"Our teacher was Gilderoy Lockhart at the time," Ron said blandly.  
  
"Ah. I see." She looked at Ron. "You said Acromantulas Ron? I don't know of any teacher who would show you a creature with a XXXXX Ministry of Magic rating."  
  
Ron blinked. "Oh, sorry. That was study project."  
  
Cora smiled at him and looked over the class. "You are all a bit behind in some areas, and ahead in others. I'm sure we'll all learn a few things this year." She moved to stand behind her desk. As she did, a wand rolled across the top of it. Cora exclaimed, "Oh thank you for bringing it back!" Then smiled hugely at the class. They stared blankly back at her.  
  
Professor Jameson waved her wand. "Accio subject one." Something round, furry and wriggling frantically appeared on her desk. With her free hand, she grabbed it. Putting down her wand, she cradled the thing in her cupped hands, holding it securely. "This is one of them," she told the class.  
  
"What is it?" Harry asked, staring at it.  
  
The Professor smiled. "It's a cridder."  
  
Dean Thomas snorted. "Of course it's a critter. We can see that, but what kind of critter is it?"  
  
Professor Jameson smiled at him. "Not critter, Cridder. That's what it is a Cridder." The class looked confused. "Let me explain. This is a creature originally found in Ireland, but it has spread all over the world. A distant relative of the leprechaun, it delights in 'borrowing' items just before you need them. Now, it may appear that this is something that you should learn in Magical Creatures, and with many other things, I'd say the same. Such as pixies. But with Cridders, appearances can be deceiving."  
  
As she spoke the thing in her hands changed. It was no longer wriggling, but calm and still. Not only that, it was changing color. It started out gray, but now it was green, now blue, and back to gray again.  
  
"What's deceiving about that?" Ron asked curiously.  
  
Smiling oddly, Professor Jameson held the Cridder out to him. "Would you hold this for me Ron?" Looking uncertain, he held out his hands. "Hold it securely," she warned as she handed it to him.  
  
As Cora released it, the Cridder started wriggling again. By the time Ron had it marginally under control, it was no longer round and furry. Instead it looked quite a bit like a balled up Gryffindor scarf. The class stared. After a moment Cora took it back. For just a second it looked like a wand, and then it reverted to its original gray furriness.  
  
"Oh!" Harry exclaimed, "It takes things from you and then assumes their form so you think you have it... until you need that item. Then it disappears!"  
  
Professor Jameson smiled. "That's exactly right Harry. Can anyone tell me why this is a dangerous thing to have?"  
  
Hermione raised her hand. When Cora nodded, she said, "Because, you could be in a dangerous situation with out your wand. Or something else equally important. Like your homework."  
  
Cora smiled again. "Not exactly the same situation, but yes that's correct Hermione." She went to one of the smallish cloth-covered boxes on the side of the room. After pulling back the cloth, she carefully put the Cridder inside and quickly shut the door. Turning back to the class, "I think that's enough for today. I believe it's time for lunch."  
  
Hermione turned to Ron and Harry. "You two go ahead. I'm going to talk to Professor Jameson for a minute. I'll catch up later all right?" She walked up towards the teacher without waiting for a reply.  
  
Ron glanced at Harry. "Okay sure Hermione," he said to her retreating back. Then to Harry, "What do you suppose that's about?"  
  
"I don't know, but I'm starving. Let's go." As they walked to the Great Hall, everyone was talking about the Cridder. Harry would have liked to discuss it, but Ron seemed distracted. He kept looking back behind them and frowning. Finally Harry asked, "Ron what's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing Harry, it's just, " he paused. "What could Hermione possibly have tot talk to a teacher about on the first day?"  
  
"She probably wanted to make sure there wasn't any homework. You know the other teachers always assign something and Jameson didn't."  
  
"You're probably right," Ron nodded at Harry as they took their seats. The food had already appeared. Harry had already finished a roast beef sandwich when Hermione showed up. Ron on the other hand had only nibbled on a drumstick. That made Harry pay special attention to his interaction with Hermione on her return.  
  
Hermione sat down across from them, a smile on her face. She seemed excited about something. Before she could say a word Ron burst out, "What was that all about?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked. She helped herself to a drumstick.  
  
"What did you have to talk to Jameson about?" Ron sounded oddly angry.  
  
Hermione frowned at him. "I don't know why you're angry with me. I'll tell what I learned at our meeting tonight."  
  
Ron frowned at his plate, but didn't say anything more. He finished his drumstick in silence. Harry looked at Hermione, questioningly. She shrugged. Finally Harry said, "Well, we have History, Divination, and Herbology this afternoon. How about you Hermione?"  
  
"Well, I have Arithmancy while you two are in Divination. I don't know why you insist on taking that class. It's all rubbish." She took a drink from her pumpkin juice.  
  
Ron looked up. "So now what we study is rubbish!" He exclaimed.  
  
Hermione merely looked at him. "No. Just Divination," she said calmly. Ron looked positively furious and Harry stared at him, shocked.  
  
"So anything that you're not interested in is rubbish," Ron said, glaring.  
  
Harry put a hand on his arm. "Ron,"  
  
"Hey gang. How was the class?" Rose asked, plunking herself down next to Hermione and grabbing a sandwich.  
  
"The class was fine," Hermione said. "It's what happened afterwards that has me confused." She got up. "I'll see you all in history." And with that, she left the Hall.  
  
Ron stood as well. "I'm going for a walk. See you in class." He left in the opposite direction as Hermione.  
  
Rose looked at Harry, bewildered. "What'd I say?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "Wasn't you. Something's up with those two. I just don't know what." He took another bite of his own sandwich and chewed thoughtfully.  
  
Rose smiled. "Since I have you pretty much all to myself, I can ask you what you thought of my sister."  
  
"Your sister?" Harry blinked. "Oh, Professor Jameson. She seems nice. She calls us by our first names. None of the other teachers do that."  
  
"Oh that's because she got her teacher training in America. That how they do it. Makes for a more personable atmosphere." She grinned at him.  
  
"America? So that's where you went after your second year."  
  
Rose winked. "Shall I escort you to History of Magic Mr. Potter?"  
  
Raising an eyebrow at her, "Of course you can Ms. Jameson. Will you be sitting in on that class?" Harry stood up.  
  
"Why of course," she said, mischief bringing a glow to her gold eyes. "Let's just hope it won't be as eventful as Potions."

Rose was right. It wasn't near as eventful. In fact, it was so uneventful that she had to pull out a muggle notebook and start doodling just to stay awake. Professor Binns, being a ghost, did not seem to realize that his lesson was being delivered in a monotone barrage of information. Plus, everyone was a little sleepy after the delicious lunch. Rose was carefully plotting out how she would teach this class, with reenactments, and stories of the people, not just what they did. She had just turned the story of Helga the warrior witch into a short skit when the class ended.  
  
Rose joined the trio at the door to the classroom. Hermione was saying farewell to Harry. Ron was evidently not speaking to her. Harry look was apologetic, Hermione's confused and upset, and Ron's was stubborn. Rose smiled at them all, trying to ignore the tension. "I'm going to join the boys in Divination today. But next time I'm scheduled to go with you to Arithmancy Hermione. Of course, If it's anything like muggle arithmetic, I'm not sure what I can learn in there. I'm a dunce at that type of thing." They started walking in silence after that.  
  
As they separated to go to their respective classes, Rose patted Hermione's arm and whispered, "Don't worry about him. I'll see what I can figure out and I'll talk to you later, all right?" Hermione nodded and left.  
  
Soon, Rose, Ron and Harry were standing at the top landing of a very long flight of stairs. There were no more stairs, and no door off the landing. "So boys, where do we go from here?" she asked. Smiling just a bit, Harry pointed up. Rose looked up in time to see a square of the ceiling open up and a ladder come down. "Oh. I see."  
  
Harry gestured at the ladder. "After you," he grinned at her. Pulling a face at him, Rose climbed the ladder. She was immediate assailed by the overpowering scent of burning incense. The room was dimly lit and smoky. Rose felt the class coming in behind her and moved out of their way. Everyone took a seat in the many armchairs and poufs.  
  
As they sat a voice came eerily out of the smoke, "Ah. Mr. Potter, I fear for your life. A great shadow dims my sight concerning you this year." There was a snort of laughter from Ron's direction. At least, Rose thought it was from Ron, she couldn't see much of anything in the smoke. It was tickling her throat. She wanted very much to cough, but feared that it would be rude. A thin woman draped in gauze, stepped from the fog. She glided to Rose.  
  
"Hello Professor Trelawney. I'm scheduled to sit in on your class this afternoon," Rose whispered. She was afraid that if she spoke louder, the cough would escape.  
  
"Yes Ms. Jameson I know," Trelawney intoned. Her eyes behind her glasses were huge and unblinking. "Please take a seat anywhere."  
  
"All right Professor." Rose carefully seated herself on the maroon pouf at Harry and Ron's table. She swallowed hard. The tickle was getting worse. She shook her head. The smoke was making her head cloudy.  
  
Her odd behavior seemed to pull Ron from his brooding. "Are you okay Rose?" he asked. The lesson was beginning. Trelawney was droning about seeing into the mists of the past to divine the fog of the future. Rose tried to pull herself together in order to reply to Ron, but couldn't seem to do it. Ron looked at Harry. Frowning in concern, he raised his hand.  
  
Trelawney looked at him, her eyes full of pity, "Yes, Mr. Potter?" There was a distinct waver in her voice as she said his name.  
  
Ignoring her tone Harry said, "Professor, I think Rose is having some sort of reaction to the incense. Could I open a window?"  
  
Frowning just a bit at being interrupted for such trifles, the professor nodded. She turned back to the rest of the class. Ron looked at Rose, whose eyes were watering with the effort of not coughing. "Go ahead and cough Rose. She can't do anything to you for it now. And it'll make you feel better." Harry moved to the closest window and started wrestling with the stubborn latch.  
  
With immense relief, Rose coughed, and coughed, and coughed. The whole class had turned to stare at her, and even Trelawney looked concerned. Harry was frantically pulling at the window. Finally Ron said, "Move!" Once Harry was out of the way, he used Hermione's charm on the latch. "Alohomora!"  
  
Even rusted as it was the latch lifted open. Harry went to shove it open, but Rose stopped coughing long enough to gasp, "Wait. use. pillow." then she collapsed into coughing again. Looking confused, Harry tossed a pillow at the window. It opened wide, but when the pillow fell to the window seat, it collapsed. The stone crumbled, the cushions flew out into the open air, and a near foot of the floor fell away.  
  
Amid the screaming and the dust, Rose's cough faded away. Professor Trelawney cleared her throat and asked, "Is everyone alright?"  
  
There were affirmative answers from around the classroom. The dust was settling. Rose could see a dirt-streaked Ron next to her. "Harry. Where's Harry?" She asked suddenly, her voice hoarse.  
  
"Here," Harry's voice said. He was lying on the floor his feet barely an inch away from the edge of the hole. His robes were covered in a thin layer of the dust, but he appeared to be in one piece. Rose moved to his side and started to help him up. "I'm fine," he grumbled. Rose smiled at him, and pulled him up anyway.  
  
There was yelling from the door in the floor. Professor McGonagall's voice called, "What happened up there? Is everything alright?"  
  
Professor Trelawney moved to the door and lowered the ladder. "The floor and part of the wall collapsed," she explained as McGonagall climbed into the room. "Everyone is okay, though I think Ms. Jameson and Mr. Potter should go to the infirmary. Just to be safe." McGonagall looked at them both worriedly.  
  
Harry's eyes widened. "No Professor. I'm fine. Really. Please, I don't need anything." He'd been in the hospital wing enough times to know he didn't want to start out the year there.  
  
Rose agreed readily, "I'm fine now too. It was just the incense. I think I might be allergic to it. I'm fine now though." She grinned. "There's quite a strong airflow in here now." The other students laughed nervously at that and even Professor Trelawney smiled.  
  
"Are you sure you are okay?" Professor Mcgonagall asked. "Perhaps you should go rest instead of attending your next class."  
  
Harry shook his head. "It's the first day Professor. We'll miss too much. Really I'm fine and Rose isn't even wheezing anymore." He smiled reassuringly at the two teachers.  
  
"Well I suppose that's true. Everyone, out of this room immediately. We'll get someone to come and repair the damage. Until then, classes must be held somewhere else." McGonagall said sternly. At Professor Trelawney's expression she merely gestured at the hole in the wall and floor. The class filed out of the room, down the ladder and into the hallway.  
  
Professor McGonagall escorted the class to Greenhouse number four for Herbology. Rose walked between Ron and Harry. The rest of the class seemed fine, if a little shaken up. They were almost out of the tower before Rose remembered her promise to Hermione. She glanced up at Ron. (Remember, she's short) He appeared to have returned to brooding. Smiling a bit, Rose asked, "So Ron, what's the deal?"  
  
"Deal?" He sounded confused, but didn't look it.  
  
"Ron, I don't know you very well, but I can tell by the looks that Harry is giving you, that you are not normally a brooding person," Rose said. Her eyes lightened to an almost blue shade.  
  
"I don't know what you are talking about." He looked nervous.  
  
"Alright then. I'll be specific. What's your deal with Hermione?"  
  
They had fallen a little behind the rest of the class. Even Harry was ahead of them.  
  
Rose looked at Ron. His ears were pink as he repeated, "Hermione?"  
  
"You hurt her you know." Ron said nothing. "She's not keeping secrets from you. At least, not that I can tell. And I usually know when someone is keeping something from someone else." Ron still said nothing, but he looked to be thinking very hard.  
  
They had reached Greenhouse # 5, but since they were early, Professor Sprout was not yet present. Professor McGonagall opened the door and let them in. As Rose filed past her with the rest of the students she said, "Ms. Jameson, I'm leaving you in charge until Professor Sprout arrives. It shouldn't be long." With one last worried glance at the class, McGonagall was gone.  
  
Rose looked around. Ron had joined Harry standing to one side of the room. They were whispering together. The green house was warm and redolent with the smell of dirt and growing things. The class was milling about looking at everything. They all knew better that to touch anything in a witch's garden. You never knew if something was going to eat you or not. Rose sauntered around, keeping her eyes open and her ears perked.  
  
Everyone was talking about the events of the day, from Neville's almost accident in potions, to the disaster in the Divination room. Neville seemed perfectly relaxed and rather in his element now. Rose smiled warmly at him, and he smiled back. She looked over at Ron and Harry. Before she could approach, Hermione burst in with a few other students.  
  
She ran up to the boys, "What happened? Was anyone hurt? Are you alright?" She started patting Ron's arms, as if to make sure they were whole.  
  
"I'm fine Hermione," Ron grumbled, "Fine." He did not however, push her away.  
  
Finally, realizing what she was doing, Hermione stopped and said, "I was sitting in Arithmancy and all of the sudden, stones and cushions started falling past the windows." She moved to stand between the two of them. She then managed to fix them both in place with a single glance. That is something all girls can do, but not always two boys at once. "Now, tell me what happened."  
  
Harry started, "Well, we got in there fine, but Rose started having a reaction to the smoke, so I went to open a window. I couldn't get it open and Rose's coughing got worse, so Ron Alohomora'd the latch. But before I pushed open the window, Rose managed to tell me to use a pillow."  
  
Ron broke in, "Good thing too. When Harry threw the pillow at the window, it swung open fine, but as soon as the pillow hit the window-seat, the whole thing collapsed. Luckily nobody was hurt." They both smiled at her. With their faces still dirt-streaked it was a rather odd sight.  
  
Hermione narrowed her eyes at Rose across the greenhouse. "Hmmm. Maybe you two are right to be a little suspicious. Our new friend is getting stranger and stranger."  
  
Professor Sprout bustled in and class began. Nothing unusual happened throughout the lesson. Except of course the lesson itself. The subject was the Phileo plant, a key ingredient to truth serum. By itself it can show you the truth within yourself. Many wizards and witches had died after eating great quantities of it, because they couldn't handle the ideas it brought them. Rose took notes on the lesson, and on the way the teacher worked with the students. She was also ordered by the professor to help the students to transplant the Phileo plants into new pots. "To give you experience" was the reasoning behind that.  
  
The lesson ended and the class exited the green house. They had about two and a half-hours free time before dinner. Rose approached the trio as they walked back to the castle. "Hey you three, interesting lesson that," She smiled. "How are you boys feeling?"  
  
Harry scoffed, "We're not the ones that nearly coughed up our lungs."  
  
"But, you are the one who almost fell through the hole in the floor," Rose returned.  
  
Hermione punched Harry on the arm. "You didn't tell me that!"  
  
Rubbing his arm, pantomiming pain, "Must have slipped my mind."  
  
Hermione rounded on Ron, "And you didn't tell me either. You were supposed to keep an eye on him!" She punched him on the arm as well.  
  
Now both boys were rubbing their arms. Harry looked indignant, "Why on earth should he have been keeping an eye on me?"  
  
Hermione looked distressed at her own words. Rose broke in, "Ron couldn't watch Harry because he was too busy helping me. I was coughing quite badly by then."  
  
Harry asked again, "Why should he have been watching me?"  
  
Both Hermione and Ron looked embarrassed. Harry scowled. "You two were trying to do that protective thing again, weren't you?" They both looked at the ground. Rose watched, her golden blue eyes twinkling with amusement. {Yes, I said golden blue.} Harry went on, "I asked you both not to do that. I think I've been through enough to prove that I can take care of myself." Hermione and Ron nodded.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Rose asked. Three pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. "I haven't been here for four years, remember?" The trio looked at one another, none of them sure of how to respond.  
  
Harry cleared his throat. "That is a very long story." He glanced at Ron who nodded agreement.  
  
Hermione interrupted, "Not the type of story that can or should be told just before dinner."  
  
"We have two hours free time." Rose broke off at their expressions. "It's longer than that?" She looked at them, incredulous. They nodded.  
  
"Well the story basically covers Harry's whole life. A lot happens in fifteen years," Ron said. Harry and Hermione smiled.  
  
"Of course," Harry said, "the most relevant stuff has been here and in the past four years." He grinned at Rose. "You missed a lot."  
  
"Not all of it good." Hermione said, shuddering in memory.  
  
Ron muttered something that sounded like "giant spiders and snakes"  
  
"Apparently," Rose said, looking at the three of them. "Well it is only the first day of the school year, so you have time to catch me up." By this time they had reached the Gryffindor portrait door.  
  
"Are you allowed in here?" Harry asked Rose. "I mean I know you were a Gryffindor, but you're not a student now so." His voice faded as she grinned at him.  
  
"I should hope so Harry. Considering I slept here last night." She went to the door, "Merlin's Earwax." The portrait swung back to reveal the scarlet and gold Common Room. Rose gestured for them to go ahead of her.  
  
"Where'd you sleep?" Hermione asked. "With the seventh year girls?"  
  
"Them? Oh no. I've got my own room. Sort of." Rose said. She smiled at their confusion. "I'm not a student so I can't room with students. I was given a choice between sharing quarters with my sister or getting a converted supply closet in here. I chose the supply closet." She laughed at Ron and Harry's expressions. "I'm the only one who can get in, unless invited by me."  
  
Hermione was looking around the room. "What supply closet? I didn't know that there was one in here."  
  
Rose grinned again. "The twins did. I had to clear out quite a bit of their things when I moved in." She winked at the trio. "I'm going to gradually return it to them. Little bits at a time will appear, until they either figure out that it's me or I run out of things to give back." They all laughed.  
  
Hermione took Rose's arm and said, "Come with me up to my room. I want to put my books away." With two cheerful waves at Ron and Harry, the two girls went up to the fifth-year girl's dorm. Once there, Hermione looked at Rose. "Well?"  
  
"Oh." Crookshanks was curled on Hermione's bed, asleep. "He just thought you were keeping secrets from him or something. Don't worry about it. I told him you weren't and he seemed fine when you came back didn't he?" Rose smiled at Hermione.  
  
Hermione carefully placed her books on the small shelf next to her bed. "I suppose. Are you sure that was it?" She started picking at her bedspread.  
  
"Pretty sure. I don't know him that well, of course." Rose wiggled her fingers at Crookshanks. He purred loudly.  
  
Hermione looked up from the bed. "I completely forgot, again." She cocked her head at Rose. "That's very strange. I feel like I've known you for years or something."  
  
"What do you think they are doing?" Ron asked Harry in the down in the common room.  
  
"I don't know. Putting books away maybe?" Harry said, looking at his friend oddly.  
  
"Well yes, but why did Hermione need Rose to help her put books away?"  
  
Fred came up behind Ron, "Little brother, haven't you learned yet?"  
  
George put a hand on Ron's shoulder, "Girls do everything in packs. Whether it's putting books away,"  
  
"Or going to the powder room." Fred pulled a face. Harry grinned.  
  
George put his other hand on Harry's shoulder. "We heard that you two have been getting into mischief today." He smiled at Harry. "Now, you know Mum would skin us alive if anything happened to you on the very first day of school." He raised his eyebrows in silent question.  
  
"You have nothing to worry about George Weasley," Rose called from the stairs. She and Hermione were coming down.  
  
"Why not?" Fred asked.  
  
"Because the first day of school is almost over, and he's still in one piece of course." Rose grinned at them as she walked over.  
  
"Ah the lovely Ms. Jameson. You didn't come to any of our classes today." George pouted.  
  
"Yeah, you'd think you didn't like us or something." Fred quipped.  
  
"Oh nothing like that my dears. I was just too busy coughing the walls down." Rose smiled at them both. "Care to escort me to dinner boys?"  
  
With identical grins, {they are twins after all} the two tall redheads held out their arms to the petite one. Winking at Hermione, Rose took the offered arms and exited through the portrait hole.  
  
"That was interesting," Ron said, staring after them. He turned to Hermione. She was looking at the door speculatively. Harry was grinning. Ron shrugged. "Well, let's go to dinner. I'm starved." He started to the doorway. Hermione didn't move. Ron turned when he reached the door. "Well are you coming?" She looked at him for a moment, shrugged, grinned and joined him at the door. Harry shook his head at the two of them and followed.  
  
Dinner was delicious as always. Rose sat with the twins, but she looked over at the trio often. Tonight, Harry sat across from Ron and Hermione. They seemed to have worked out whatever had been bothering them earlier. At one point Fred yelled. He'd reached into his pocket for something and gotten a handful of purple goo that he obviously wasn't expecting. He and George started laughing. Apparently the goo was a failed experiment of theirs, that they had thought lost. Amid the laughter, Rose winked at Hermione. After dinner Rose excused herself to go speak with her sister. The trio returned to the common room.

A/N 

I have just combined what was formerly chapters 1, 2 , and 3 into a single first chapter. I hope this doesn't confuse my faithful readers, but I had just decided that the sheer number of chapters may be what is deterring readers. Especially since I realized that I myself was unlikely to start reading a story that was more than 20 chapters… odd I know, but there it is.

Thank you all for reading!

Tara


	2. Dannikits

Two hours and several rounds of Exploding Snap later, the room finally emptied. While Hermione searched the room for any hidden housemates, Ron and Harry moved three chairs a little closer to the fire for light and warmth. "It's empty," Hermione said, sitting primly in a chair.   
  
Ron was sprawled across his chair. "Let's pool what we know," he said, "which isn't much."   
  
"Well, we know she was a Gryffindor four years ago, until she left Hogwarts for some reason. Now she has returned, but she didn't join her former classmates. Instead, she seems to have surpassed them and is undergoing teacher's training." Harry said from where he was similarly sprawled.   
  
Hermione nodded, "That's right. She has unusual eyes too. Of course so does Madame Hooch, so that could mean nothing."   
  
"Or it could mean something," Ron said. He sat up. "Did either of you notice that her coughs seemed to coincide with something horrible almost happening?"   
  
Hermione looked at Ron appraisingly. "She did cough right before she immobilized Neville, that's true. But from what you told me, I thought she started coughing as soon as she got into the Divinations classroom."   
  
Harry shook his head, "No. She seemed fine at first. Then her eyes started watering and she stopped talking. Of course the incense would get to anyone that first time. So I went to open a window, to get her some fresh air. You know the rest."   
  
"You said, she managed to tell you to use a pillow to open the window. When and how did she do that?" Hermione asked. The boys could almost see the wheels turning in her head.   
  
After thinking for a moment, Ron said, "Well she was coughing awfully hard, doubled over even. She sort of gasped out between coughs, 'no use pillow' which seemed like an odd suggestion at the time."   
  
"But after the fact, quite good advice." Harry said.   
  
"What I want to know is how she knew that you should use the pillow." Hermione sighed.   
  
"That is the million galleon question, isn't it." Ron said. They all stared into the fire.

Something gray glided in front of the hearth. It was Shadow. But she wasn't alone. A slender black cat was with her. In the way of cats, they two of them seemed to flow together on the floor. Until they were two furry puddles in front of the fire. Harry frowned. "Have either of you ever seen that cat before?"   
  
"Oh yes," Hermione said, nodding. "That's Starlight. She belongs to Professor Jameson. She came into the room while I was talking to Cora after class."   
  
"Odd name for a black cat," Ron said, looking down at the felines.   
  
"You, should talk," Harry grinned, "Pigwidgeon."   
  
"That's not fair. Ginny named him that, not me," Ron blustered. Harry laughed. Hermione waggled her fingers at the cats. Starlight lazily stretched a paw up at her.   
  
"What if…" Harry started, "What if Rose knows about dangerous things that are going to happen, before they happen?"   
  
"You mean like a premonition?" Ron asked. Hermione looked at him approvingly. Then he added, "Or… you don't think she could be causing these things… Do you?"   
  
Hermione shook her head. "No. She's too openly nice, to be doing that kind of thing."   
  
"So was Barty Crouch, as Mad-Eye Moody." Harry murmured quietly, his face tense. Shadow stood up, and with fluid grace leapt onto Harry's lap. She started purring loudly, and snuggled into his chest. It soon looked like he had a pile of ashes there. After a moment, he started petting her and relaxed.

"I still don't think so," Hermione said. "Rose is strange, but not like he was. Besides, Two points make a line, not a pattern."   
  
"Hermione, you've gone into your brilliant gibberish again. What do you mean?" Ron asked. He seemed to be stretching out a hand to Starlight. Either that or the cat was stretching towards him. It was probably a bit of both.   
  
Hermione smiled at him. "I mean that with only two strange incidents to go by, we can't come to any real conclusion yet. If something else odd happens, we'll reevaluate our information."   
  
Ron wiggled his fingers. "Well, then there is the fact that Neville is accident prone, so that one couldn't have been caused by her anyway. Yow!" He glared at the black cat. She'd pounced on his wiggling fingers. She had her front paws wrapped around his hand; claws sheathed, and was looking back at him, unblinking. Then with a raspy lick from her tiny pink tongue on the back of his hand and an indifferent flick of her tail, she released him. Then went to sit in front of the fire, a dark silhouette against the flames. Ron looked at his hand, disgruntled. "At least she didn't draw blood," he grumbled. The end of Starlight's tail twitched. Ron rubbed his hand.   
  
Hermione and Harry looked at one another, and burst out laughing. After a moment of listening to them, Ron exclaimed, "That's reminds me Hermione." He looked at her. "What were you talking to Professor Jameson about anyway?"   
  
"I was just asking her about homework. She didn't give any you know." Hermione said.   
  
Harry gave Ron an 'I told you so' look. Ron persisted, "But you said you'd tell us what you had learned at the meeting tonight. So… What did you learn?"

"Professor Jameson got her teacher training in America, went to Hogwarts, was a Gryffindor like Rose, and left Britain four years ago." Hermione said.   
  
"That's means she went to America before Rose's third year here," Harry said. Shadow was still cuddled on his chest, but her purring had quieted in sleep.   
  
Ron yawned loudly. "I'm tired of riddles." He yawned again. "In fact, I'm tired altogether."   
  
"We should go to bed. I don't think we're going to solve anything tonight anyway." Hermione said. "We've got Hagrid, McGonagall, and Flitwick tomorrow, as well as that new class." She yawned.   
  
"What new class?" Harry asked.   
  
Hermione looked at him crossly. "I don't know. There were merely slots on the parchment with just a time and place to be, not a course name, or even a teacher. It was on all three of our schedules. Now, I'm going to bed. See you in the morning." And with a sleepy wave, she climbed the stairs.   
  
Ron looked at Harry. "Me too. You coming?"   
  
"Yeah. Just a second." Harry carefully supported the sleeping Shadow with his arms and sat up straight. The cat stayed curled in his arms. She didn't even squeak. But she did start purring again. Harry followed Ron up the stairs.   
  
A black thing streaked past them. Upon reaching their bedchamber, they discovered Starlight curled up on Ron's bed. Her eyes reflected the dim light from their candles back at them. "Looks like you have friend now, Ron." Harry chuckled. He poured a limp Shadow onto the foot of his own bed.   
  
As he changed and climbed in bed he could hear Ron grumbling, "Presumptuous cat… Doesn't know where it's supposed to sleep…ouch!" Harry grinned into the darkness and patted the still purring Shadow. He fell asleep easily.

The next morning was lovely. The sun was shining brilliantly, the sky was blue, and the trio had Care of Magical Creatures right after breakfast. Not even having to deal with Malfoy could dampen their spirits. They walked across the grounds to Hagrid's hut, chatting with other Gryffindors and occasionally stifling yawns. They hadn't seen Rose at breakfast or in tower when they went up to get their things.   
  
Hagrid met the class in front of his house. "Well 'ello everyone. I've got a great lesson planned for you today," he boomed cheerfully. The class looked at each another apprehensively. They remembered his previous great lessons. Thoughts of Blast-ended Skrewts, Hippogriffs and Flobberworms sailed through their minds. Hagrid was holding a large cardboard box. He put it down feet. "These are the subjects. Come in closer. They don't like open spaces." The Gryffindors moved closer, and the Slytherins formed a huddle slightly to the side of the group.   
  
Hagrid opened up the box. A soft mewling sound came from within it. He reached in a picked up a tiny, fluffy red creature. It hung limply in his large hand, and turned bright blue eyes to the students. It's eyes widened and it started mewling and wriggling frantically. Hagrid closed his other hand over its head and it calmed. "This is an Agoradan kit. Otherwise known as a Dannikit. They are quite harmless creatures, until they get attached to a witch or wizard. Then they get quite protective, and dangerous to anything that threatens their companion." The mewling in the box grew louder. "Dannikits don't like open places at all, and can become quite stressed if left in that situation for very long. It's dangerous to their health." Hagrid put the red Dannikit back in the box and smiled at the class. "You'll all be getting one to take care of for the semester. I've got cages for you to keep them in. They're at the side of the house." He pointed.   
  
Every one, even the Slytherins, went and picked up a small box. Malfoy sneered down at his, but he seemed to either be biding his time before making a remark, or genuinely interested in the Dannikit. Harry was willing to bet it was the former. The boxes were about a foot square, with a glass view screen on one side and a wire mesh lid. Hagrid cleared his throat. "Now, I'm going to lift out the Dannikits one at a time and hand them out. Hold them very gently and carefully. If the kit struggles, hand it to the next student. They'll only be calm with someone they'd be able to live with, so don't force it. If you try to, and get one that can't survive with you, they'll die."

Wouldn't that be a tragedy. The loss of yet another rodent from the world," Malfoy sneered.   
  
"You're right Malfoy," said a voice behind the trio. They turned to see Rose looking at Malfoy. There were green flickers in her eyes. "There are too many rodents in the world. Especially here at Hogwarts." Her eyes glowed fully green for a moment. "But that's fortunate for the Dannikits, since that's what they eat." She smirked at Malfoy's scowl before approaching Hagrid. She smiled sweetly at him. "Hello Hagrid. Sorry I'm late."   
  
"S'all right Rose." He smiled proudly down at her. "Danni's do eat rodents, but not till they're full grown."   
  
She nodded. "I stand corrected Sir." She grinned again. "Can I help?"   
  
"Yep. You can take over and hand the Dannikits to the students. I'll go get their mum, so y'all can see what they look like grown-up." Hagrid disappeared back into his hut. Rose went to the cardboard box and looked inside.   
  
She whistled low. "He's got 'em crammed in here like sardines." She nodded. "Exactly the way it should be." She reached into the box and pulled out a brown-furred, brown-eyed Dannikit. She looked at it for a moment. "Who should you go to little one?" She looked around at the students.   
  
Just as they had for every one of Hagrid's other classes; the trio stepped forward first. "We'll start it off, if you like." Harry said. Smiling, Rose handed him the Dannikit. Harry cradled it in his hands. After a moment, it wriggled around, so he passed it to Ron, who immediately passed it to Hermione, because the kit became frantic. She patted it a moment, but it started wriggling anyway. The Dannikit was passed around the students until it reached Neville. It went completely still in his hands and blinked up at him.   
  
His eyes round with surprise, Neville exclaimed, "It's so soft!"   
  
Malfoy looked as if he might make a remark, but a single green-tinged glance from Rose stifled it. She smiled at Neville. "Go ahead and hold it to your chest Neville. They like to be near other creatures. Your heartbeat will comfort it." Neville did as she said. The Dannikit snuggled itself under his chin. If his shirt hadn't been buttoned securely, it would have climbed inside. Neville looked at the little creature with awe. Can everybody say awwww… {Sorry had a George of the Jungle moment there}

Smiling, Rose went back into the box. Several Dannikits later, Hermione finally got one that liked her. She immediately cuddled it to her cheek. The light brown kit hid itself in her hair, snug against her neck. She was about to continue helping but Rose shook her head, "Now that you've got one, go join the others over there." She pointed to the growing huddle of students with Dannikits. Hermione nodded and did so, most of her attention on the tiny creature on her shoulder.   
  
As he handed off yet another Dannikit, Harry asked, "So what do you know about these things Rose?" She glanced at him, before watching the black kit getting passed around. It finally settled on Dean Thomas, who stuck it in his shirt pocket. There were only a few Dannikits left and Hagrid had not yet come out of his cabin. There were occasional thuds from inside, but no yells, so Harry was not yet worried.   
  
Rose snuggled a black and white spotted Dannikit before handing it to Harry. "I've done a lot of animal research. It was a requirement of my training."   
  
"And what was your training?" Ron asked, handing the unusually patterned animal to Lavender Brown. The animal took one look at the next person in line, Goyle, and clung to her shirt squeaking pitifully. She cuddled it, making reassuring noises as she moved to join the paired students. Harry covered his laugh with a cough, paying close attention to Rose's reply to Ron's question. Unfortunately, she didn't have a chance to give one.

There was a yell from behind him. Malfoy was cradling his hand and glaring down at the ground. Rose dashed over to him; Harry and Ron close behind. There was a red ball of fur on the ground at his feet. It wasn't moving. "What Happened?" Rose asked, her tone stern. Ron knelt down and touched the tiny creature.   
  
Malfoy smirked. "That thing bit me. It's dangerous." Ron picked up the limp body. Harry thought he was going to be sick.   
  
Parvati Patil moved up to them. "It tried to get away from him. He wouldn't let it. So it bit him, and he threw it down." Her eyes glimmered with tears. "Is it dead?" she asked Ron.   
  
Ron shook his head, cradling the Dannikit to him. "No, but it's hurt bad. I think I should take it to the hospital wing. Do you think Madame Pomfrey would know what do to with it?"   
  
Rose nodded at him, her eyes a worried gray. Harry smiled wryly at him, "Madame Pomfrey can help with just about anything. I should know." Ron tried to smile and couldn't manage it. He started across the grounds. Hermione ran after him and Harry could hear her asking him what was going on.   
  
"I need to go to the hospital wing too. For my hand." Malfoy whined. Harry could see that he wasn't even bleeding.   
  
Rose's gray eyes blazed into green flames without even blinking. It was quite startling to watch. "50 points from Slytherin house for wanton mistreatment of a magical creature," she declared her tone so cold Harry almost shivered. Malfoy paled and took a step back.   
  
"Y- you can't do that!" he exclaimed.   
  
"Actually, she can," Hermione said, joining them. "Hagrid left her in charge. She has the power of his authority behind her."   
  
"She's not a teacher, and neither is he! My father's going to hear about this!"   
  
Rose smiled icily. "I'm sure he'll love hearing that his son nearly murdered an Agoradan kit. It'd just make his year." Her smile grew, "Or rather, his years, and yours. Since the killing of an Agoradan is a crime that gets a witch or wizard five years in Azkaban. Plus a ten-year long curse on the felon from the animal's mother." Her smile faded. "So, I'd get out of here before Hagrid brings her out. Might not be too healthy for you."   
  
Without another word, Malfoy turned and ran back to the castle. Harry turned to Rose. Her green eyes remained on Malfoy. "Was all that true?" He asked her as they returned to the Dannikit box.   
  
Rose smiled at him, her eyes now an odd mixture of blue and green. "Mostly." Harry grinned back. She lifted another red Dannikit from the box. Her eyes went gray again. When she tried to hand it to Harry, the Dannikit squeaked and waved a seven-toed paw at her. "Uh-oh. I'm not supposed to get one." She tried again to hand it to Harry and discovered that each of those seven toes contained a claw. It gripped her sleeve tenaciously.   
  
"Looks like he thinks differently," Harry said. He smiled at the look on her face. It was a combination of amusement, anxiety and awe.

Hagrid banged out of his hut, carrying a huge box. It barely fit through the door, and that was certainly saying something. When he set it on the ground, it was almost as tall as he was. He looked around and appeared to be counting students. He leaned down to Harry. "Where's Ron and 'Ermione? And Malfoy?"   
  
"Hospital wing," Rose answered. She was still trying to dislodge the Dannikit, but her efforts were becoming half-hearted.   
  
"Quit fussin' with it Rose. You'll stress it. We've got enough for everyone." Hagrid told her. "Why'd they all go to the hospital wing?"   
  
"Malfoy tried to force one of the kits. It refused him, so he almost killed it." Rose explained. She snuggled the Dannikit, unable to help herself.   
  
"He did WHAT?" Hagrid bellowed. All noise from the other students stopped, and everyone looked at them. Harry had never seen Hagrid look quite like he did then. Sort of furious and afraid, all at the same time. "What's he in the hospital wing for? It couldn't have hurt him."   
  
"He claimed it bit him," Harry said.

"Couldn't have hurt much. They've just got their milk teeth now," Hagrid looked into the Dannikit box. "There are a couple left. Who doesn't have one yet?"   
  
"Harry doesn't have one," Rose said. "Neither does Malfoy, of course."   
  
"What about the one that was hurt? Did it have a companion yet?" Hagrid asked. He started unfastening the latches on the large box.   
  
"I think Ron bonded to it. He picked it up from the ground and he's taking it to the Madame Pomfrey." Rose said.   
  
"It'll be okay then. Once they're bonded, they're stronger." Hagrid mumbled. Harry sighed with relief. Hagrid turned from the box to Harry. "Well, pick yours up Harry. I'm sure there will be a staff meetin' about the one left behind. And whether or not that git deserves it. If it consents to take him."   
  
Harry looked down into the Dannikit box. There were only two kits left. A black one, and a white one. He reached in to pick up the white one, but the black one pounced on his hand. With its bright green eyes wide in its little round face, and its little paws wrapped around his wrist, there was no denying that he'd been claimed. He smiled as he scooped up the fuzzy animal.

"We can't just leave that one alone in the box like that. It'll freak out." Rose said. Her Dannikit was sitting on her shoulder, fluffy tail wrapped around her braid for balance. It regarded Hagrid solemnly, amber eyes unblinking.   
  
Hagrid smiled at the little creature. "Well, do you mind holdin' it then? Since you are already bonded, it will tolerate you until we find it a companion."   
  
Harry was playing with his Dannikit. He tickled its chin, and it mewled happily from its spot curled in the crook of his arm. He looked up in time to see Rose pick up the white kit. It went stiff for a moment and eyed her red one frostily. She tried to put it on her other shoulder, but it stayed stiff. Looking at it oddly, she put it in one of the empty student Dannikit boxes. It settled down and curled up in a ball. It lay there with its blue eyes open, watching everything through the little window of the box.   
  
"That's strange." Hagrid said. Shaking his head a bit, He turned to the rest of the class. "Everybody get in a circle around this here crate. Stand about ten feet away." The students, all cuddling Dannikits, did as he said. There were kits in pockets, kits in hair, and on shoulders. Neville's had even managed to actually get inside his shirt. It occasionally squirmed, and he'd grin. Harry secured his kit in his arm, and watched as Hagrid opened the last latch on the large box.   
  
The sides of the box folded down to the ground to reveal the Agoradan. She was bigger than Fang, and much more beautiful. She looked like a tiger (minus the stripes) only better. She sat primly, regarding them all with a steely gray gaze. Her thick fur was red, black, and white all swirled together in multi-layered brilliance. Large pointed ears sat perked on the top of her dark red head, turning this way and that to pick up the slightest sound. Her tail was at least three feet long, bushy and red with a white tip, like that of a fox. It curled neatly around her front legs. Her relatively small pink nose sniffed the air delicately. She stretched out one very large paw to Hagrid, extending all seven toes, complete with claws. She yawned, displaying sharp fangs.   
  
"Meet Atanis. Affectionately known as Atty," Hagrid announced, smiling proudly. He stretched out his own large hand to her. She butted her head against it affectionately. He scratched her between the ears. A low rumbling came from her chest. It sounded like distant thunder. "Agoradans live as long as their companion does. Atty here has just reached her thirtieth year. You hold her second litter."

The white tip of Atty's tail waved proudly, and the thunder grew louder. Hagrid continued, "You'll notice a small pamphlet in your boxes with basic care instructions. You've been given permission to bring your dannikits with you to your classes, though some teachers will require them to stay in their boxes. The next couple of weeks are crucial to the development of a relationship with your Dannikit."   
  
Harry's Dannikit had clambered up to his shoulder. It seemed to find his hair fascinating. He could feel its paws batting at his head and whiskers tickling his ear. Grinning, he asked, "Hagrid, you said they bond for life, so what happens to these guys after the semester's over?"   
  
"If they aren't completely bonded at the end of their first year, they'll die." Hagrid said, then sniffed loudly. Atty gave him a reproving look.   
  
"They must be rare, because I've never heard of them before," Pansy Parkinson sneered. Her kit was cradled in her arms, asleep. It was obvious however that the idea of owning something rare appealed to her.   
  
"Yes, they are rare. They die without a successful bond. That makes for a small population. But it's growing." Hagrid continued. He pulled out a hanky and blew his nose. It sounded like a foghorn. Atty's thunder was cut off and her reproving stare turned into quite a dirty look. She stood up and moved a little away from him.   
  
Standing, the tops of her ears reached Harry's chest. She walked with an easy grace around the circle of students. She came to the box containing the un-bonded white Dannikit. Everyone went quiet. She lowered her head and sniffed it. It mewled at her and she lifted her head, seeming startled. The pupils of her gray eyes narrowed to slits and she walked the circle, looking at each of the students in turn. She paused in front of Neville, and Harry could have sworn she looked amused. Neville wasn't paying her any attention. A tiny brown paw was reaching out of Neville's collar, batting at his mouth. He was making faces, and before each change in expression, the paw would tap his lips. She continued, passing right by Crabbe and Goyle, who were looking at the balls of fluff in their hands with bewildered confusion. Her gray gaze slid over the rest of the Slytherins, but she had a good look at each of the Gryffindors. Finally, she stopped in front of Harry.

She glanced over at the white kit, and then met Harry's eyes with her gray ones. Love, pride, and an amazing sense of power were in those eyes. She blinked and he came back to himself. That amused gleam was back, and she looked up at the top of his head. He could feel a we there. Then a wisp of black fur caught his eye. He realized that his kit was now sitting on his head. Not only that, but its front paws were resting on his scar. Rose was looking at him oddly. Atanis blinked at him again and moved on to Rose.   
  
When Rose's gold eyes met those of the Agoradan, they turned a dark blue, before returning to that warm gold color. Her kit waved a paw at its mother, breaking their locked gaze. Atty moved to look down at the white Dannikit again. It was sitting up now. She picked it up in her mouth with the utmost care and brought it to Harry. She stared at him until he held out his hand. Then she gently placed the white kit in it. She seemed satisfied about something and returned to the folded box in the center of the circle.   
  
Hagrid cleared his throat. "Looks like she approves of you all. That's the end of our lesson for today." He motioned the students toward the castle. Harry was looking down at the white Dannikit. It stared up at him, blue eyes unblinking.   
  
He looked at Rose. She looked a little dazed. After shaking her head, and patting her Dannikit, she smiled at Harry. "What am I supposed to do with it?" He asked her.

"I'm pretty sure you've been designated its surrogate caretaker. Until a companion can be found for it." Rose said. "Come on, you're going to be late for your Charms class."

Careful not to unsettle his own Dannikit, Harry cradled the white one in the crook of one arm and carried his bookbag with the other. He was sure that he has never walked across the grounds with such perfect posture in all his time at Hogwarts. The white kit was perfectly still in his arms, but a black tail kept waving past the sides of his face. His kit seemed to be trying to keep it's own balance, but all it was doing was unbalancing Harry. Finally, after his fourth near stumble, Rose stopped him.

"Harry, let me see if she'll let me hold her," Rose said, a hand on his arm. Harry nodded and could feel the little paws gripping his hair. In all the moving, his kit had never unsheathed its claws, not even when he stumbled. Rose reached up, and took the kit from his head. Her own kit watched from her shoulder as she cradled it in her arms. It didn't squeak a protest, but it did keep its green eyes on Harry.

"How do you know it's a girl?" He asked.

Rose smiled down at the black kit. Her own climbed down into her arms and crowded in with Harry's. "Female Dannikits always chose men and the males always choose women. It's just the way they work." The black and red kits were snuggled together. "I guess they've decided to be friends."

"I wonder why this one didn't like you," Harry said, motioning his head to the white one. They had reached the doors.

"Well, it's a girl," Rose said, "and un-bonded. Although, I've never known them to be hostile..."

"So that really is unusual." Harry said.

"Yes," Rose paused. "You go ahead and go to Charms. I'll stop by the Hospital wing to check on Ron and that kit. We'll probably meet you there." She untangled the two kits in her arms and set Harry's on his shoulder. After a moment, it was securely perched, its tail wrapped around his neck. With a wave of her hand she went on down the hallway, her Dannikit back on her own shoulder.

Harry glanced at his kit. She blinked at him and batted at his unruly hair. With a tiny squeak, she fell off his shoulder and landed in his arms with the white kit, who loudly protested the disturbance. As Harry walked down the hallway, his own started griping too. It was that time between classes when everyone was in the halls. Harry, juggling two complaining dannikits, got many curious glances from passing students. He burst into the Charms classroom, put both of them down on his desk, pulled out his wand and yelled, "Accio boxes!"

The rest of the class, all Gryffindors, turned and stared at him. Two of the personal boxes for the dannikits flew through an open window and slid to a stop next to the still arguing kits. Harry scooped up the white one and put it in its box. As soon as it was inside, his own stopped griping, sat down primly and looked at him. He would have sworn to anyone that asked that there was approval in those bright green eyes.

Harry looked up at the class. "Sorry," he mumbled, flushing. "They didn't like each other." He sat down hurriedly at Professor Flitwick bustled into the classroom. Once he had climbed the stairway made of books to the top of a second pile of books in his chair, he sat down and looked out at the class. And promptly fell off again, startled by the sudden appearance of the head of Neville's Dannikit above his shirt collar.

Climbing back into his chair, the tiny professor said, "I see you've gotten your little companions. This year ought to be interesting." And so the class began. After a while, Flitwick noticed that Hermione and Ron were both missing. The information that they were in the hospital wing sent him falling to the ground again. Before he had climbed into his chair again, the missing students and Rose slipped into the classroom. Flitwick watched Ron and Hermione slide into their seats. Rose approached him; her Dannikit curled in her arms. She started whispering to him.

Harry leaned over to Ron and asked, "How's that kit?"

Ron pulled his bookbag off his shoulder and opened it. The red Dannikit was curled inside, asleep. "She'll be all right," he smiled down at the little creature and closed the bag again. He looked at Harry. "I'll tell you about it after class. He wiggled his fingers at Harry's kit, which was watching him closely. She blinked and batted his hand with a paw. He grinned.

"Who does that one belong to?" Hermione asked, pointing to the white Dannikit.

"Nobody yet. It's the one left over." Harry said. "Its mother designated me its babysitter, until a companion can be found for it."

"But the only one in the class that didn't get one is..." She stopped speaking.

Ron stiffened, "Malfoy." His blue eyes narrowed. "I'll certainly have something to say about that."

"That's good," Rose said, coming up to them, "Because there's a faculty meeting at lunch back at Hagrid's about that very thing. And we are all expected to attend."

"How do you know?" Ron asked. "You were with us from the hospital wing to here.'

"I spoke to my sister before I went there." Rose said. "Now shush. Flitwick's teaching y'all a cleansing charm, to help look after your kits." Giving her strange looks, the trio turned their attention to the professor.

The class started well, but about twenty minutes after the arrival of Ron, Rose and Hermione, everything seemed to fall apart. Every time one of them tried to swish and flick their wands, their dannikits would interrupt. Ron's would just mewl pitifully from his bag, forcing him to stop and check on it. Harry's would jump at his wand, trying to snag the end of it. Rose's would yowl even when she wasn't the one doing the magic. Hermione's kit would tangle itself in her hair and if she even attempted the spell, it would jump off her shoulder, jerking her head around. Neville couldn't get his kit to come out of his shirt. The white kit wasn't doing much of anything, until Harry got the bright idea to try the spell on it. As soon as he aimed his wand, it let out an unearthly shriek, but because it was in the box, couldn't do much of anything about it. The spell hit the kit with a pop. For a moment, it was hidden in a mass of soap bubbles. Slowly they dissipated to reveal a sparkling clean, dry, fluffy, white, complaining, but perfectly fine Dannikit.

"Oh," Hermione said. "They just don't like baths." She started wrestling her Dannikit out of her hair.

Fred and George came into the classroom. With winks at the trio, they went to stroll up to Rose. Her Dannikit peeked at them from her shoulder. It had worked several curls from her braid, and now had a thick curtain to hide behind.

After a few whispered comments, Harry heard George add to her, "I don't want to startle you, but there's something furry in your hair." Rose laughed. The Dannikit blinked at the twins.

"So are you coming or what?" Fred asked. Then he gaped, suddenly noticing the amber eyes that peered out at him.

"Yes I am. That's my Dannikit, an extra from the litter for the fifth years. We'll follow you in a moment." Rose said. She went to speak with the professor, who nodded at her and returned to helping Neville coax his Dannikit from his shirt. The kit was adamantly refusing to pay attention to either of them. In fact, after a moment, a delicate whirring sound came from the afore-mentioned shirt. Neville's face took on a blissful expression and he gave up.

Rose approached the trio, the twins sauntering after her. "Come on you three. We've got to get to that meeting. Everyone else is already there."

"Everyone else means who exactly?" Hermione asked. She released her kit, but it was so tangled in her curls by now that it couldn't move. It mewled pitifully. Sighing, she went to work untangling it. Ron almost laughed, but she glared at him and he started trying to help. Rose looked at the twins for an answer.

Fred shrugged, "Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape, as well as Hagrid... I'd love to know what you all did that requires the attention of the Headmaster on your second day." He grinned.

"Don't forget, Madame Pomfrey and that bloody great cat." George added, grinning at them too.

"It's an Agoradan, and the mother of these creatures," Harry said, wondering if the teachers would give the white kit to Malfoy after all.

"Yes, well, we'd better go. Thank you two for fetching us," Rose said, smiling at the twins. It was clear from her look that she assumed they'd be returning to their own interrupted class now.

George's smile grew into a smirk. "We're to come with you. Don't have a clue why."

Hermione had finally managed to untangle her Dannikit. Ron checked on his own and Harry settled his on his shoulder. The white kit was still grumbling. George picked up its box. "I'll give you a hand." He looked in to the box at the kit. "Who does this one belong to?"

"No one yet," Rose said, ushering them all out the door. They left the rest of the class all trying to get their dannikits to be still long enough for the spell to work. A few were sitting like Neville, smiling blissfully. That delicate whirring sound had grown louder. The dannikits were obviously trying to convince their companions that they didn't need a bath at all. Harry determined to make a note of that phenomenon so that he could see if his kit did the same thing.

They all walked, once again, out to the grounds. "Why do you have that one if it doesn't belong to anyone?" Fred asked, as they crossed a courtyard.

"The mother gave it to Harry to baby-sit, until a suitable companion could be found," Rose answered.

"She sure is a beauty," George said, looking in at the white kit. "Who is she supposed to go to?"

"Originally, she would have gone to Malfoy," Ron said with a scowl. He pulled his bag around and reached in to check on his Dannikit again.

"That nasty bugger?" Fred asked, incredulous.

"He's not fit to own such a creature!" George exclaimed indignantly.

"Especially since he's almost killed one already," Rose said, coldly.

"WHAT?" The twins yelled in unison.

"You'll hear all about it in a minute," Rose said, her eyes blue gold with approval at their reactions. They'd reached Hagrid's 'classroom' area. They could see him; McGonagall, Snape and Dumbledore all crowded around something on the ground. Casting a glance at the trio and the twins, Rose squeezed her way into the circle of teachers. She just as quickly squeezed her way out again. As she approached them, her eyes were swirling blue, green, and gold.

"What is it?" Harry asked. Rose smiled rather wolfishly and motioned them all over. The teachers spread out enough for them to see what was in the center. Upon realizing what was in front of him, Harry had to stifle a shocked gasp. Looking at the others, he saw that they were having much the same reaction.

It was Malfoy. He was lying on the ground, terrified, staring into what must have appeared to be the very jaws of death. Atanis had obviously pounced on him. Her huge front paws were on his chest, claws partially visible. Her large head was barely an inch away from his, and her lips were lifted in a silent snarl, displaying her fangs. "P-p-please call her off..." he stammered. His face was shiny with sweat. Dumbledore nodded and Hagrid put a hand on her neck. Her gray eyes flickered to him as he whispered in her ear. After a very tense moment, she growled deep in her chest and stepped off him. Malfoy remained on the ground, trying to regain his composure. Rose cleared her throat. The teachers turned their attention to the new arrivals.

"Ah good. You're all here," Dumbledore said with a hint of a smile. "I'd like everyone's account of what happened this morning. I've heard from a few of the other students already, but as you were all in the middle of it, I decided for a separate meeting." He looked at them expectantly.

Snape cleared his throat. "Headmaster, as I understood it, none of these students saw the incident, and everyone knows there is no love lost between Mr. Malfoy and the Hogwarts trio."

"Severus, the very reaction of Atanis to young Mr. Malfoy's presence lends credibility to the previous eyewitness accounts we've heard." McGonagall said with a frown at the still shuddering boy on the ground.

"We're not here to contest what happened," Madame Pomfrey said. She was looking over Malfoy, though not assisting him in any way. "I can tell you, from the injuries to the kit, what happened to it." She glanced at Ron. He patted his bag. It wiggled just slightly. She smiled.

"But the older Weasley's weren't there at all. Why are they here?" Snape snapped out.

"You know why, Professor," Hagrid said. Fred and George looked at each other, confused. Snape glared at them. Hagrid kept his hand on Atty's well-muscled neck. Her gray eyes had gone cold, and were locked on Malfoy.

"Pardon me," Rose said, with a glance at Snape "but perhaps we should begin." Dumbledore nodded at her. "I was handing out the kits, and heard a yell. When I approached, Malfoy was standing over the kit, whining about his hand. Ron checked on the kit while I learned what had happened from Ms. Patil. He was claiming that it had bitten him, though he wasn't bleeding, and that made him drop it. Ron took it to the hospital wing, along with Hermione. I took fifty points from Slytherin for mistreatment of a magical creature."

Harry heard Hagrid mutter, "Should have been a hundred." This was followed up by that distant thunder from Atanis. The sound made Malfoy shudder and scoot away from her. She yawned lazily, showing those fangs in their entirety; her gray eyes fastened on him. Harry almost laughed, but managed to contain it. He returned his attention to the conversation.

Snape was saying, "She has no right to take away points. She's not a teacher."

McGonagall started to say something, but Dumbledore stopped her. "Yes Hagrid?" He asked softly.

Hagrid cleared his throat. "I gave her the responsibility of the class while I got Atanis from inside the house. She had my authority."

Dumbledore nodded and looked at Ron, "Mr. Weasley, what do you have to add?"

Ron unslung his bag, reached in and pulled out his Dannikit. He cradled her gently in his arms. She lay still, until she caught Malfoy's shudder out of the corner of her eye. Her bright blue eyes went wide with fear; she trembled and tried to climb into Ron's shirt. He let her. He kept a hand on the lump she made under the fabric and began.

"I picked her up from the ground. I didn't pay much attention to what was being said, but I figured out that she'd been dropped. She was hurt badly, so I took her to the hospital wing to see if Madame Pomfrey could help. Hermione came too. Madame Pomfrey was surprised to see us. And even more surprised to see the Dannikit. By the time she was done fixing it up, Rose had come to escort us to Charms." He patted the lump that was his kit. "She'll be alright in a few days."

"That she will dear boy," Madame Pomfrey said to him. She smiled that medi-witch smile. The one Harry knew so well, that meant that everything was going to be okay… eventually.

Snape scowled, but this time, it seemed to be aimed at his prize student, instead of Harry and his friends. That in and of itself was surprise. "Can we get this over with? I have a class full of first years in ten minutes," he growled.

"In a moment Severus. George would you mind opening that box of yours?" Dumbledore asked. "I'd like to have a look at the last kit of the litter."

"Of course Headmaster." George was remarkably polite as he opened up the box. He held up the box. The kindly old wizard smiled and held out his hand. So George lifted out the white kit, put the box on the ground and handed her to him. The only problem was, it wouldn't leave his hands. He put it directly into Dumbledore's hands, and yet when he pulled his own hands back, he was still holding the kit. "What the…"

"Congratulations Master Weasley. You've been accepted." Dumbledore smiled kindly at his shocked expression.

"But he's a seventh year student!" Malfoy exclaimed. Atanis growled. At the same time, Snape grabbed him by the arm. He shut up, looking fearfully between the angry Agoradan and the irate Potions Master.

"Yes Mister Malfoy. But as you can see, the little one doesn't care. And neither do I." Dumbledore answered calmly. McGonagall looked furious. He continued, "Thank you all for coming. I believe you have a lunch to get to?"

They all nodded, a bit shocked. George was staring at the white kit in his hands, surprise and awe written all over his face. Fred reached out a finger and asked, "Can I touch it?" George nodded. Fred lightly touched her head with the tip of his finger. She waved a paw at George and mewled. He smiled.

They all started back to the castle. The teachers and Malfoy remained. Harry would have very much liked to stay, because it sounded like Malfoy was getting bawled out by Snape. His cold voice carried on the breeze, accompanied by that low growl from Atanis. But they'd been dismissed to lunch. Harry sighed, then smiled. They may have missed seeing Malfoy getting punished, but they had seen him shuddering and quaking with fear, pinned to the ground by an Agoradan. It was almost as good as the time he'd been turned into a bouncing ferret by Mad-Eye Moody. Before he could dwell on that particular man, his kit trilled at him from his shoulder and nuzzled his ear. And so his smile remained in place.

Rose was walking next to George, talking quietly to him. The white kit was staring at her and her kit, blue eyes wide. But apparently, it had gotten over whatever bothered it about Rose, because it climbed up to George's shoulder and waved a friendly paw at her. Her kit peeked out from behind her hair at his. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione. Ron looked pleased, but Hermione looked a little confused. That was a surprising expression for her.

"What's up Herm?" Harry asked. She glanced at him. Her kit was nestled in the crook of her arm, sleeping. Ron looked over at her. His kit was still inside his shirt, but the tips of her ears could be seen over his shirt collar.

"It's just… doesn't it seem odd that the teachers would just let Atanis attack Malfoy like that?" She asked.

"You're DEFENDING that lummox?" Ron asked, shocked.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I just think it was odd, that's all. And Dumbledore didn't seem surprised at all when the white kit stayed with George."

"He knew that Atanis wouldn't really hurt him… And it was obvious what he was doing with the kit. He forced George to get it out of the box, instead of getting it himself," Harry said.

"Yes, but why?" Hermione asked.

"We'll have to talk about this later you two." Ron muttered. "I think we need another late night meeting."

"If this becomes a tradition, we'll never pass our O.W.L.'S " Hermione said worriedly.

Ron looked at Harry, "That's our Hermione, always thinking about school. Even with a Dannikit." Hermione sent a glare at him. Harry, noticing the glare, wisely refrained from comment.

They had reached the Great Hall. It seemed even louder than usual, but since it was only the second day of school, they didn't think anything of it. Everyone was still getting reacquainted with friends. Fred pushed open the door to reveal…

Utter chaos. There was food everywhere. It looked like the site of the biggest food fight in a century. The prefects were desperately trying to regain control of their respective houses. They were failing miserably. As he stared open-mouthed, Harry noticed something odd. The Slytherin table was devoid of any hint of the presence of dannikits. In contrast, the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables had kits climbing in the food, and all over the students.

Professor Jameson was standing next to her seat at the high table, a shocked expression on her face. There was a lump of mashed potatoes on her nose, and a faint splash of gravy on the front of her powder blue robe. Seeing them at the door, she made her way through the laughing students to her sister. "What in the world happened?" Rose asked. The twins were looking forlornly at the fun they had so obviously missed. Strangely, George didn't look as sad as Fred did. The white Dannikit put a paw on his nose, making him smile. Maybe it wasn't so strange.

Professor Jameson flicked the potatoes off her nose with a finger and said, "The Dannikits went nuts as soon as they got in here. I think they've abandoned the Slytherins for more hospitable companions. This started arguments between the original Slytherin companions and the new ones they had chosen." She looked around the hall. "As you can see it escalated into an all-out food fight."

"A pretty spectacular one," Fred said.

"And we missed it," George added, trying to frown. He couldn't pull it off because a white tail was tickling the back of his neck.

"You weren't supposed to get one," Cora said to him.

"Neither was I." Rose said in response.

"This is certainly interesting," Hermione said, "But don't you think we should at least attempt to get all this under control before Dumbledore returns?"

"It's not him I'm worried about," Ron said, "It's Snape. Can you imagine his response to the utter abandonment of his house by the dannikits?" He shuddered.

"He'll hate Gryffindors even more than he already does. None of us got abandoned…" Harry said,

"I'd even go so far as to say we probably gained a few of the former Slytherin kits as well."

Just then a wet yellow thing streaked along the Hufflepuff table towards them. It took a flying leap at Fred. Only his quick quidditch reflexes managed to keep it from hitting the ground. It was a dannikit. Moments later, a furious, pudding splashed Pansy Parkinson appeared. "Give me back my Dannikit," she ordered.

The yellow lump trembled in Fred's arms. "I don't think it wants me to," he said, frowning at her.

Pansy turned to Cora. "Professor I insist on the return of my Dannikit!"

Cora shrugged helplessly, "If it doesn't want you, there's nothing I can do about it." Pansy narrowed her eyes at the blonde woman. When she got no other response, she turned on her heel and stalked away. Cora turned to the others. "I'm glad it didn't stay with her. She was in my last class, cooing and preening in front of the Ravenclaw girls, because she had it and they didn't." She shook her head in disgust.

"Uh, Cora…" Rose said, hiding a smile. "Are you sure you should be telling them this?"

Cora's frown turned into a little O of surprise as she realized what she'd just said. The trio, Rose and the twins all laughed. The yellow dannikit started licking its paw. As their laughter subsided, Fred grinned at his brother. "Now we've both got one."

"Wait a second," Harry said, "If it was with Pansy, then it's a male, and only female dannikits stay

with guys… So what's going on?"

"She didn't stay with Ms. Parkinson," Cora said, "Pansy was just a means to an end."

Rose grinned, "And apparently, that end was Fred."

"Which means that it's a female," Ron said, catching on.

"Yes, that's right. Congratulations Fred and George. Now, Hermione was right. We really should see about getting this under control. If that clock is correct, these students have about five minutes to get to their next classes." Cora smiled at them all. "It's a good thing we're all witches and wizards." She winked and went up to the high table.

Cora climbed onto the table and raised her arms above her head. "SILENTUS!" she yelled. An eerie quiet fell on the hall. Students went still and faced her. "Now, everyone. You have class in less than five minutes. Which means that this Hall must be cleaned up very quickly. Because of the enormity of the mess, we cannot leave it for the house elves." A few students mouthed 'Why not?' but they were ignored. Cora continued, "Now, I'll release you from the silence spell in just a moment, and I want everyone to perform any cleaning spell they know. The faster and better you do this, the sooner you get to class and the less likely it is that you will be punished for this disaster." She swished her wand and yelled, "FINITEM!"

There was an immediate babble of voices, followed by spells being called out and flashes of magic. The few first years present watched avidly, as the older students performed their spells. Buckets of soapy water and mops appeared and began scrubbing floors. Food and dishes disappeared completely. {It was generally assumed that they went to the kitchens, however, the truth of this was never verified.} Within moments, the tables and floors were scrubbed clean, and the students were left standing around, they still food-spattered.

"What are we going to do about our clothes?" asked a Ravenclaw girl. She had a black dannikit draped over her shoulder. There was a white spot on its nose, and it was licking what looked like chocolate off its paw.

"We can't go to class like this!" A Slytherin girl exclaimed. It sounded like Pansy.

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Doesn't anybody here READ?" Hermione asked, frustrated. She swished her wand and muttered something unintelligible. All signs of the food fight on clothing disappeared. There were gasps around the hall. Even Harry and Ron turned to stare at Hermione. She flushed and whispered, "We need to get to class."

"I'd love to know how she did that," Ron said to Harry, who grinned.

Rose grinned at Hermione. The spell had readjusted her braid, so that the curls pulled out by the dannikit were once again securely in place. "That's an interesting use for that spell. I've never seen it applied quite that way. Very… creative." Hermione smiled back, surprised at the compliment, and blushed even harder.

They headed out of the hall. Fred and George followed. "Where are you two going?" Harry asked.  
  
"To our next class." George said. His dannikit was balanced on his shoulder.  
  
"Where are you going?" Fred returned. His yellow dannikit was now fluffy, clean and a deep golden color.  
  
"To our next class of course," Ron answered. He squinted at his brothers suspiciously. "What is your next class?"  
  
"We don't really know." George said, "It's a bit strange actually. We got a place and time to be somewhere, but no class title or teacher name."  
  
"We've got the same thing!" Harry exclaimed. His dannikit twitched in his arms. She'd slept through the entire hall debacle.  
  
"I wonder what it could be?" Hermione said. Rose didn't say a word, but her eyes were golden blue. Her dannikit was still on her shoulder, tail once again wrapped securely around her braid.  
  
The group of them headed to a classroom in a strange part of the school. Only Harry's and the twin's memories of the Marauders Map told them where they were. Somewhere under the Astronomy Tower, away from the other classrooms, but not as low as the dungeons. At one point they reached what seemed like a dead end. It was a window at the end of a hall. But the directions on Hermione's schedule had directed them there, so she opened the window, stepped through without pausing and disappeared.  
  
Ron gasped and jumped forward, Harry's heart stopped. They all stared at the place Hermione had been just a moment before. Rose just stood and waited. Harry was slightly reassured by the fact that there was not a hint of gray in her eyes. A moment or two went by. Ron had gone pale. His dannikit started making that whirring sound Harry recognized as the calming spell that Neville's kit had used in Charms class. It wasn't working. Ron turned panic-stricken eyes to Harry.  
  
Just then a hand reached in from the window and grabbed his arm.  
  
He yelled and they all gaped at the hand. There was no body attached to it. Suddenly Hermione's face appeared to be floating in the sky outside the window. "Hurry up you guys, the class is about to begin."  
  
"Y- you're a-a-alive!" Ron stammered. His face still looked pale as parchment paper.  
  
"Of course I'm alive you dolt." Hermione said, frowning. "Why wouldn't I . Oh. You thought I." She looked flustered and apologetic. "It's just a portal, like Platform 9 ¾. I'm fine." She pulled Ron out the window. He fell into the sky after her. The last thing Harry saw of him was his feet. But a moment later, Ron's hand appeared in that sky and waved at them. Harry took a deep breath and followed that beckoning hand.  
  
He was in a classroom. Hermione and Ron were standing to his left, talking quietly now that he was through the portal. He turned back to said portal and saw a rather ordinary looking, wide-open, door. He reached back through and wiggled his fingers at those on the other side. He couldn't see them of course, but knew that they could see his hand. He felt someone grab it and pulled them through. It was George. He seemed to be holding Fred's hand already, because he came through not a second later.  
  
"Well, that was different," George said.  
  
"Quite odd actually," Fred added. Their newly attached Dannikits looked slightly rattled. Harry glanced at his own. She'd sat calmly on his shoulder throughout the odd ordeal. Her black tail was draped across the back of his neck and when he looked at her, the tip tickled his ear. He grinned and she scrunched up her whiskers at him. " I need to come up with a name for you little one," He whispered to her. She blinked.  
  
"That's part of what we're doing here Harry," Rose said. She'd come through the doorway. Reaching behind her, she pulled the door closed.  
  
He looked at her. "What do you mean? This is a class, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes. My class," Rose said, " actually." Harry and the twins stared after her as she walked to the front of the classroom. There were other students in the room as well, including Neville, Ginny, as well as several unknowns. Two seventh year Ravenclaws, a boy and a girl, and two little first year Ravenclaw girls that were hiding in the far corner. All had dannikits. Rose moved to stand by the chair in the front. There were no desks in the classroom. Only fifteen chairs arranged in a wide circle in the center of the room. Rose faced them all. All talking ceased.  
  
"Hello everyone. I'm glad you could all make it here on time. My name as most of you know is Rose Jameson. I am a student teacher here at Hogwarts. I have met each of you at least once previous to this, but you may be unfamiliar with a few of your classmates." She looked around. "Please take a seat anywhere you like, and we'll begin introductions."  
  
Rose sat down. Her dannikit climbed from her shoulder to her lap, curled up in a ball, and fixed them all with an amber stare. Going to her left, the seating order ended up like this: George, Fred, Hermione, Ron, Harry, the Ravenclaw boy, the first year girls, the older girl, Neville, Ginny and then three empty chairs before coming back to Rose. Harry glanced at them all. Everyone looked confused except Rose. He cleared his throat to get her attention. Twenty- four pairs of eyes turned to stare at him. {Remember, they all have kits} He smiled, rather embarrassed, and asked, "Um. what is this class?"  
  
"Didn't I tell you already?" Roe asked. They all shook their heads. "Oh. Well. I must have had a reason." She grinned. "Let's get through the introductions first, then I'll explain. Who wants to go first?" Silence. "Come on you guys, I just want names, houses, and a tidbit about yourselves. Is that so much to ask?"  
  
The twins looked at each other. The one right next to Rose started, "I'm Fred Weasley, Gryffin"  
  
"Ahem." Rose cleared her throat.  
  
They both laughed. "Oh right. He's Fred, I'm George. I forgot." He winked at Rose. "Gryffindor, Seventh year, Beater on the House team."  
  
"Fred Weasley, Gryffindor, The other Beater on the House team."  
  
"Hermione Granger, Gryffindor, Fifth year, Prefect."  
  
Whispered, "How come I didn't know that?" Then, "Uh, Ron Weasley, Gryffindor, Fifth year, Trying out for keeper."  
  
Whispered as well, "How come you didn't tell ME that?" Then, "Er. Harry Potter, Griff"  
  
"The Great Harry Potter. No need to say more. We know all about him," The Ravenclaw boy, turned slightly in his seat to look at Harry. "The Boy Who Lived, The youngest Seeker in a century, and Tri-Wizard Champion. I think that covers everything, doesn't it?" Smooth brown eyebrows quirked up over his silver-blue eyes. He grinned hugely and held out his hand. "I'm Daniel Emmortal, Seventh year, Ravenclaw Beater. You've missed my bludgers more than a few times in matches." He looked over his glasses at Harry. " I'm a pretty fair Beater. Malfoy can attest to that. He's taken a couple well- aimed bludgers to the head. Must be the reason he's such a sleazy git." He grinned again.  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Harry smiled and shook the offered hand. The introductions continued.  
  
"Carolynne Emmortal, Ravenclaw, First year, haven't even turned in any homework yet. This is only my second day." She twirled a dark brown curl around her finger.  
  
"Regina Emmortal, Ravenclaw, First year, Call me Reggie. And yes I am related to those two. Lynne and I are twins. Not identical." She glanced at George and Fred. They grinned and she started twirling her blonde hair around her own finger.  
  
"Antar Tasner, Ravenclaw, Seventh year, Call me Ana. I'm from Mexico and proud of it." She flung her long, straight black hair back over her shoulder, and lifted her chin.  
  
"Neville Longbottom, Gryffindor, Fifth year, I'm the house klutz."  
  
Muttered, "You're not that bad Neville," Then, " Ginny Weasley, Gryffindor, Fourth year, I'm related to all the male redheads in the room, as well as three other older ones." She made a face at her brothers.  
  
"Okay, now that everyone knows each other, it's time to meet our Dannikits," Rose said cheerfully.  
  
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. "We know our Dannikits."  
  
"Yes, but now you will learn their names." Rose lifted her kit from her lap, stood and put it in the chair. It sat down, wrapped its tail around its front paws and watched her.  
  
"You mean we don't name them?" Neville asked.  
  
"Not exactly, they already have names. They're born with them. It's our job to discover what they are."  
  
"And how are we going to do that?" Daniel asked. "They can't talk," he paused. "Can they?"  
  
"Not without magic." Rose smiled. They all laughed a little.  
  
"So what are we supposed to do?" Ana asked. Her smoky blue-gray dannikit was curled on her lap. It blinked pale green eyes at Rose.  
  
"We have to wait for my assistant," Rose said. "She'll be here shortly."  
  
"Who's your assistant?" George asked.  
  
A dust-colored streak sped through the room and leapt onto the empty chair next to Rose's kit. Rose smiled. "This is her. Everyone, meet my cat Shadow."  
  
"What do you need a cat for?" Carolynne asked. Her cream dannikit was balanced on the back of her chair. Its tail contrasted prettily with her brown curls.  
  
"You'll see," Rose patted Shadow. "Talk amongst yourselves while I get everything ready." She went to a tall wooden cabinet in the back of the room.

A/N 

I have just combined what was formerly chapters 4, 5 , and 6 into a single second chapter. I hope this doesn't confuse my faithful readers, but I had just decided that the sheer number of chapters may be what is deterring readers. Especially since I realized that I myself was unlikely to start reading a story that was more than 20 chapters… odd I know, but there it is.

Thank you all for reading!

Tara


	3. The Naming

Everyone looked at each other. The chairs weren't quite close enough to one another to really carry on a conversation, so everyone got up and started milling around. Harry, Ron, George, Fred and Daniel all huddled together to talk Quidditch. Hermione approached Ana, Lynne and Reggie. Ginny shoved Neville towards the other boys and joined the girls.

"So, you're a prefect, huh Herm?" Ginny asked. "And you didn't even tell Ron. I'm surprised."

"Well, he didn't tell me he was trying out for keeper," Hermione muttered.

"But you knew anyway. Didn't you?" Ana asked. She smiled at Hermione.

"Of course," Hermione said, "That's not the point."

Reggie and Lynne looked at one another. "We're confused," they said at the same time.

Ginny smiled. "My brother was quite obvious about it. He practiced all summer. His excuse was that he was gonna help Harry."

"Then Harry never got to come over, so the excuse fizzled, but he still practiced." Hermione added.

"Why couldn't he come over?" Lynne asked.

Hermione and Ginny exchanged a glance with Ana. Ana knew Harry's history because she'd been at the school for the past four years. Ginny cleared her throat, "Family trouble."

"Oh. Right." Reggie said. The girls exchanged a somber look as they remembered.

After a moment Ginny turned back to Hermione. "You didn't tell Harry you were a prefect either.'

"The subject never came up." Hermione said.

"So, I'm the new guy to this group," Daniel said.

"Not really," Fred said.

"We know you," George added.

"We've spent the last five years playing you on the pitch," Fred continued.

"You did." Daniel agreed. The three seventh years sized each other up. Harry looked at Ron, raising his eyebrows.

Then they all broke into grins. "You're not bad," George said, "For a Ravenclaw."

"And you two are great," Daniel said, "For Gryffindors."

"This is ridiculous," Harry said. "What do you suppose we're all doing here?"

"Taking a class, of course." Ron said.

"From someone the same age as the twins, and only a student teacher," Harry said.

"That's right. She is our age." Daniel said. "I forgot. She must have gotten some special training though right?"

"Yeah. She told us she had a lot of animal research as part of her training," Harry said.

"But she didn't tell us where or why," Ron added.

"We're already in an animal husbandry class," Neville said.

"Huh?" Ron looked confused.

"Care of Magical Creatures," Neville said, smiling at Ron. "So this class won't be anything like that."

"What do you mean Neville?" Harry asked.

"We were trying to figure out what she's gonna teach us right?" Neville asked.

"I guess," Daniel said, "But why wonder? She's about to tell us."

Sure enough Rose was back. She was carrying a small velvet bag, and her wand. "All right everyone, please move to stand in a circle. Your dannikits should sit in your chairs. They know what to do."

"How do they know?" Reggie asked. "I mean we just got ours at lunch, how would they already know what to do for a spell?"

"This is their naming. It's something they are taught about by their mother. At least the ones that will go through it are." Rose smiled at her kit. It waved a paw at her.

"You mean they don't all go through this?" Hermione asked.

"No. In fact, only these twelve from the litter will participate in the naming. The others will just be named by their companions," Rose explained. She waved a hand at their dannikits.

"Well, what do we have to do now?" Fred asked. He glanced back at his kit. She was staring at him, blue-eyes wide in her tiny face. In fact, all the dannikits were now sitting up in their chairs, with eyes fixed on their respective companions. "What the…?"

"They know what's going on," Rose said. "I want no talking. It's crucial to the ceremony." She looked at Shadow. The cat leapt from its chair and approached Ginny's chair. She joined the dark brown dannikit in its chair. His eyes remained on Ginny. "Ginny, turn and face your kit." Ginny did so. Rose moved over and handed her something from the velvet bag. "Feed it to him." She held out the tiny item to the kit. It took it from her hand and ate it. There was no sound.

Then there was a rumble of thunder. Ginny's kit tensed up. It opened its mouth and a single word came out. "Erian." The mouth closed, and the kit relaxed. Ginny and everyone else stared at the kit. Ron's mouth was hanging open. Rose smiled.

"Ginny, meet Erian. He will be your companion for life," Rose said. "Sit down and get to know one another." Ginny reached out for the kit. Shadow leapt from the chair to join Neville's kit on his. Ginny scooped up Erian and sat down in the chair, snuggling him. Rose smiled again.

She moved to Neville and repeated the process. His chocolate-colored dannikit became Andra. Instead of waiting for Neville to pick her up, Andra leapt into his arms, whirring. This earned her a disapproving glare from Shadow before the naming continued.

Ana's blue-gray kit became Segan. He remained seated sedately, until she picked him up. Then he wriggled happily in her arms.

Reggie's white and gray swirled kit became Ikarus. His tail lashed across the chair until she picked him up.

Lynne's creamy kit became Anondir. He stretched lazily into her arms.

Daniel's shorthaired brown kit became Phantom. Her silver-blue eyes glinted as he picked her up.

Before each name was said, there was a low rumble of thunder. There was a loud clap of that thunder as Harry's black kit became Kali'na. She twitched her tail and mewled at him. When he picked her up she stretched a paw to tap his scar, and whirred faintly.

Ron's red kit blinked her bright blue eyes at him, as she became Fianna.

Hermione's light brown kit became Nildur. When she picked him up, he immediately tangled himself in her hair.

Fred smiled happily, as his fluffy gold kit became Solida.

There were grins all around, as George's kit became Lunia. The similarities behind the names were unmistakable. And finally they came to Rose.

Shadow had been with every kit as their names were said. She finally joined Rose's. Their postures were identical. Seated primly on their haunches with their tails wrapped around their front paws. Rose fed him the small item and the red kit opened his mouth, "Vestan." Rose went slightly pale. She dropped the now empty bag to the floor and stared at Vestan and Shadow. Shadow moved to the next empty chair and Rose scooped up Vestan with shaking hands. No one seemed to notice as she sank into her chair. The room was filled with the sound of whirring Dannikits. Vestan nuzzled her chin, and Shadow climbed into her lap. She closed her eyes.

They sat that way, while everyone cuddled their kits. After a time Rose opened her eyes and looked around. George was looking at her, but everyone else was focused on his or her own kits. He brought his eyebrows together worriedly. Her eyes had gone gray. Lunia blinked at her. Rose blinked quickly and gold swirled into her eyes, though some of the gray remained. "Are you alright?" George asked.

Rose nodded. "I'm fine," She cleared her throat, "Okay everyone, I suppose you'd all like to know what this class will be focusing on." There were nods and affirmative noises from around the room. She looked down at Shadow. The cat jumped neatly to the empty chair next to her. Vestan climbed to her shoulder and wrapped his tail around her braid for balance. Rose smiled at them all. "This is a class never before taught at Hogwarts. Nor is it likely to be taught here again, unless I continue to do so. In this class you will learn to defend yourself in unconventional ways, even by magical standards." She grinned at their surprised expressions. They had their kits in laps and on shoulders, or in Harry's case, the top of his head.

"Like what?" Hermione asked. Nildur was still tangled in her hair, only his tail visible. She was vainly trying to remove him.

Ron put a hand on her arm. "Just leave him for Merlin's sake!" Surprisingly, Hermione desisted.

Rose smiled again and held out her hand, palm up. "Let me show you," she said. She stared into her palm. A small flame appeared in it. The class gasped.

"But… you didn't even say a spell!" Ana exclaimed. Segan looked as surprised as she did. He stared at the flame, pale green eyes unblinking.

"She didn't use her wand either," Fred said, gaping.

"How…" was all Harry managed to get out because Kali'na had swished her tail around until the tip ended up almost in his mouth.

"I'm going to teach you how to do this…" Rose smiled, "And this." She focused once again on the flame. It tripled in size. Then suddenly she threw it across the room at the wall. A scorched mark appeared where it hit. The flame reappeared in her hand. She looked around. "That's just a sample. A very minor one."

Daniel grinned. "This is gonna be fun." Phantom trilled at him. His sisters rolled their eyes.

"You're going to teach us how to throw fireballs?" Neville asked. He looked a trifle nervous. Andra popped her head out from inside his shirt to gaze at the dancing flame.

"That and much more Neville," Rose said.

"We're learning offensive tactics now," Ginny said suddenly. "Instead of just defensive ones."

Rose nodded. "That's right." She tossed the fire up into the air and caught it again easily, like a tennis ball. She grinned at the astonished expressions on their faces. She closed her fist and the flame disappeared. "Now, I'll show you more next class. I believe you all have another class to go to?" There was a long silence. "Well? Get going or you'll be late!" She laughed brightly as they all stood to go. Daniel, Fred, Harry and Ron went to the scorch mark on the wall. They inspected it closely, talking amongst themselves before Hermione and Ginny shooed them out the door.

Ana, Reggie, Lynne, Neville and George remained behind. Ana shook her head at the mark on the wall, turned and looked at Rose again. "This will certainly be interesting." She smiled and disappeared out the door.

The twins approached Rose. "Are you sure we are in the right class?" Lynne asked.

Reggie continued, "We're only first years… and way behind the others."

Rose smiled. "You wouldn't have even gotten the class on your schedule if you weren't supposed to be here. Or gotten into the room for that matter. Besides, I don't think you two are as far behind as you think." She winked at them. " I'll see you around alright?" They nodded and left, cuddling their kits.

Neville cleared his throat, "Are we still having that lesson this evening Rose?"

"Of course Neville. I'll meet you in the common room an hour before dinner okay?" Rose smiled reassuringly. Vestan whirred at him.

Neville sighed with relief. "Okay. Thank you." Andra waved a paw over his shoulder at her as he turned to leave.

Rose looked at George. Her smile faded at his expression. "What's wrong?" He asked pointedly.

She sighed. "I told you I was fine."

"You forgot how your eyes betray your feelings Rose. The others were too far away to see, but I saw the worry, and your trembles. What's going on?" George said.

Rose scowled. "I don't remember you being this nosy." Vestan whirred in her ear.

"Four years changes things," George said.

"Yes, I suppose it does," Rose agreed. She sat down again and looked up at him. Her eyes were more gray than gold now. "I can't tell you yet. It's not that I don't want to… It's that I don't quite know myself." She smiled a bit. "Will that satisfy you Mr. Weasley?"

George grinned back. "Only if you are listening in on my next class."

"And what is your class?"

"History of Magic."

"Oh no." A look of mild horror swept over her face.

"Oh yes. Come on Professor." Laughing, he pulled her, ignoring her protests, from her chair and out the door. Vestan and Lunia clutched precariously to their shoulders.

They caught up to Fred in the hallway. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Your brother is kidnapping me," Rose said, glaring at George. He still held her arm.

"Oh," Fred said. "Need a hand?"

"Yes!" Rose exclaimed. She smiled gratefully at him.

Fred grinned and took her other arm. Fred looked at George. "So, where are we taking her?" he asked.

"What!?!?" she exclaimed, starting to struggle. Vestan made a faint mewling sound and she went still.

"You didn't really expect him to turn against me did you?" George asked, smiling at her. To his brother, "We're taking her with us to class."

Lunia looked at Rose. The gray was gone from her eyes. Instead green and a little blue had filtered in. Rose looked back at the kit. "This is beyond ridiculous," she muttered. The white kit yawned cutely. Solida looked at her from Fred's shoulder. If anyone had asked her, Rose would have sworn that Solida winked at her. But no one asked.

The twins strong-armed Rose down the corridor. As they reached a more populated area, she stopped resisting and hissed at them, "I have to look respectable!" They loosened their holds on her arms. To a casual observer it appeared that they were merely escorting her to class as they had to last night's dinner. Had anyone looked more closely, they might have noticed the green flecks in her eyes, and the flush to her cheeks. An even closer observer would also notice the blue swirls in her eyes. But no one was looking that closely.

"He may not want me in his class again," Rose whispered to the twins.

"And why not?" Fred asked curiously.

"Because I observed his class yesterday," Rose answered.

"That was a fifth year class… this is a seventh year class." George returned.

"But, I'll be a distraction," Rose protested.

The twins looked at each other over her head and grinned. "Exactly," they said together. They continued through the halls.

Meanwhile, the trio and Neville made their way to the Transfiguration classroom. Daniel, Ana, Reggie, Lynne and Ginny left them with cheerful waves and went on to their own classes. As they walked down the hall, Harry noticed the many curious glances they were getting from fellow students. "Why do you suppose they are staring at us?" he asked the others. Kali'na was still perched on the top of his head, front paws on his scar, tail wrapped around his neck.

"I don't know," Ron said. Fianna was curled in the crook of his arm, blue eyes watching the passing students avidly.

"I don't like it," Neville said. Andra had retreated to his shirtfront again, only her ears visible. They twitched at every sound. In the noisy hallway, they were moving constantly.

"It's probably just the kits they're staring at," Hermione said. Nildur extricated a paw from her hair just long enough to tap her nose. Hermione blinked. He drew the paw back into her hair. "That was quite a ruckus they caused in the Great Hall."

"Yes, but why are they staring at us?" Harry asked. "We weren't even there until the end."

"Maybe that's why then. Because we weren't there, yet we still have kits." Hermione continued. Nildur's paw came out and tapped her nose again. Ron almost laughed, but her frown stopped him. Hermione paused in the hall. The others stopped as well. When the paw appeared again, she said, "Nildur, not now." The paw stopped in midair and retreated into her hair again.

"He understood you!" Ron exclaimed.

"Of course he did," Hermione said, starting down the hall again.

"Wait a second… How could he understand you?" Harry asked. "OW!" He reached up and grabbed Kali'na. He turned her to face him and squinted at her from behind his glasses.

"What happened?" Neville asked. He had one hand on Andra, the other holding his bookbag to his shoulder.

"She scratched me!" Harry exclaimed.

"Of course she did," Hermione said. "You insulted her intelligence." Nildur waved a paw at Harry from inside her hair. One of his seven claws was visible.

Harry blinked and looked back at Kali'na. Her green eyes were wide in her tiny face. "I… didn't mean to…" Harry started. She wriggled and trilled at him. "That's a new sound." She did it again. He smiled, and put her back on his head. She covered his scar again with her paws, re-wrapped her tail around his neck, and whirred.

"I suppose that settles it then," Ron said. Fianna yawned cutely.

"Settles what?" Neville asked. Andra wriggled under his shirt. He put a hand on her and she stilled.

"The dannikits are smarter than we gave them credit for… and we're destined to forever be late to the first day of Transfiguration," Ron finished.

"LATE? Oh no!" Hermione exclaimed, she dashed down the hallway again. The boys followed at a more moderate pace. Harry didn't want to unbalance Kali'na, Fianna was still hurt and Andra was… well… not in a very secure position.

They entered the classroom nervously to find… students playing with dannikits. There was no McGonagall in sight. Not even as a gray tabby cat. "What's going on?" Harry asked Seamus Finnagan.

"McGonagall's not here," he said cheerfully. He was tickling his kit's tummy. She was whirring loudly.

"We can see that Seamus. Why isn't she?" Ron asked. Fianna was staring at Seamus' kit as if she disapproved of her affectionate display.

"Don't know. She wasn't here when we got here. I didn't see any other students either. Other that our class that is." Seamus turned away from them, back to his kit. He scooped her up and snuggled her.

Harry and Ron looked at one another. They looked across the room at Hermione. She was vainly trying to get Lavender to answer her questions, and getting no acceptable answers.

She stormed over to them. "All they'll tell me is that McGonagall's not here," she grumbled.

Nildur had worked his way mostly free of her hair. He was perched indignantly on her shoulder, tail slashing the air behind her back.

"I don't understand," Neville said. "We hurried to clean up the great hall so that there could be classes… so where is the teacher?" Andra popped her head from his shirt and looked around the classroom, as if searching for something.

"I'm right here Mr. Longbottom," Professor McGonagall swept into the room. "Take your seats please everyone, so we can begin." Reluctantly the students did so, though the trio, looked at one another, bemused. Neville just looked confused. Andra retreated once again under his shirt.

What followed was a class of review, and a few transfigurations of dannikit boxes into carrying pouches. The trio and Neville discovered that they had left theirs in the other classroom… so could not complete the lesson. Strangely enough, McGonagall did not seem to mind. In fact, she seemed unusually cheerful.

At one point, Ron asked Harry, "What do you suppose got into her?"

Hermione overheard him and said in a 'any fool can see' tone of voice, "The kits shunned Slytherin house."

Fianna grumbled and Ron resituated her on his shoulder. She balanced carefully, just long enough to reach over and bop Nildur on the head with a paw. At Hermione's outraged gasp, Ron grinned. She narrowed her eyes at him. "She doesn't want you talking to me like that," Ron said. Fianna bopped him on the head in exactly the same way she had Nildur. It was Hermione's turn to grin. With a satisfied whirr, Fianna wriggled her way into his shirtfront. Harry just looked on, still trying to figure them out.

The class continued with no further complications or incidents.

In Professor Binns' classroom, Rose was trapped in a seat between the Weasley twins. While the ghostly professor had been surprised to see her again, he had not protested her presence. She had had a very tense twenty minutes so far. Once they had seated her, the twins had not said another word. The only sign that they even acknowledged that she was there, was the fact that anytime she started to get up, a hand from one or the other of them would reach out and grab whatever was handy under the table. After three knee pinches and two pulled fingers, she gave up.

Vestan did not seem to notice Rose's discomfort. He was sitting on the table in front of them. If she tried to write anything, he would attack her quill. So she took no notes. She and the twins were the only ones with dannikits in the room. Lunia was sitting on George's lap. He kept one hand petting her while he took notes with the other. That petting hand was the pinching culprit. Solida was draped around Fred's neck. Rose couldn't figure out how she stayed there. He had one hand in his lap. That was the finger-pulling suspect. Finally, Rose picked up Vestan, put him in her lap and when he stretched a paw towards her quill, she murmured, "No." He pulled back the paw and made himself comfortable in her lap. He was now completely ignoring the quill.

After a moment's thought, Rose picked up the quill again and started writing something.

"What are we doing?" She then slid the parchment over to George. He flashed her a smile and responded.

"We're taking notes on the history of wand waving. I think." He slid it back.

"Well, what am I doing here then?" Rose wrote with a flourish.

" Providing a distraction." He winked at her.

"A distraction from what exactly?" It was amazing how suspicious a simple handwritten sentence could look.

"The monotony of this class" He smiled.

"And???" Rose passed it back to him crossly.

There was a loud pop behind them, near the door. George's smile turned into a grin. "That," he said happily.

Rose would have jumped up, but Vestan kept her in her seat. George put a hand on her arm. 'Don't move." He murmured.

"Why ever not?" Rose asked, going still.

Fred spoke from her other side, "The more you move around, the faster it works." Rose was about to say something, but paused as the other students came out of their boredom-induced stupor. Even Professor Binns paused in his droning to investigate. Rose glanced back. Pink smoke was spreading throughout the room. "What the…?"

A boy in the last row suddenly chuckled. His seat partner, a thin blonde giggled. Both looked surprised and at the same time supremely happy. As similar reactions came from the other students, Rose looked at the twins, eyebrows raised in question. They just smiled. It was the oddest thing. It was like a wave of joy sweeping through the classroom. No one was sleeping anymore. Everyone was awake and smiling by the time the pink smoke reached the three of him or her seated in the front row.

Rose was suddenly swept with a wave of self-confidence and happiness. Her eyes turned a vivid blue and she smiled widely. Vestan, Lunia and Solida whirred loudly. "What was that?" she asked. Though she was incapable of being annoyed at the moment, she knew she would be if she were in a normal state of mind. Even the Professor seemed affected by the smoke. After a moment's pause he returned to his lecture, but there was brightness to his tone that hadn't been there before.

Rose returned to the parchment note. [I]What was that?[/I] Even her handwriting was cheerful.

Fred took the note this time. George was busy watching the class' reactions. [B]A Bubbly Booster[/B] Fred scribbled. He was grinning just as hugely as she, but like George his eyes were intent on the reactions of other people.

"But What Is It?" Rose wrote insistently. She was still smiling, but the effects of the smoke were fading.

"It's a happiness bomb" Fred wrote. Rose would have asked more, but Vestan stopped her quill with a paw. She desisted and waited for the twins' spell to dissipate.

Two hours later, the trio met Daniel, Ana, Reggie, Lynne and Ginny at the doors to the great hall. "Have you guys seen Neville?" Ginny asked the trio. Erian was inside his box, and she held the box under one arm. He didn't seem to like it very much. He wasn't grumbling, he just didn't look comfortable.

"He was having a private potions session with Rose, I believe." George said, appearing behind the four Ravenclaws.

"Why does he need a private lesson from her? Why not Professor Snape?" Ana asked. The ten of them sat on their table benches, so they could talk across the aisle.

Everyone stared at her, even the Emmortal twins who were a little in awe of her. "Are you mad?" Fred asked finally.

Ron elbowed his brother and Hermione explained, "What he means is… Neville wouldn't get a single thing done if he were left alone with Snape."

"Why not?" Reggie asked. Ikarus was hiding amongst the robes that had bunched up in her lap.

"He doesn't get along with Snape," Ginny said. Erian wriggled in his box.

Fred coughed. It sounded suspiciously like the word "Understatement." George elbowed him this time.

Hermione interceded again. "Rose offered her help to keep him from being penalized for a mistake he made in class yesterday." Nildur looked at Ana from his seat on Hermione's pile of books.

Ron grinned and said, "She's a much more interesting teacher than Snape any day." Then he winced. Fianna and Nildur had both leaned over and sunk their claws into his arm. They didn't draw blood, but they did leave fourteen little scratches. "What did you do that for?" he asked Fianna. She was curled in his lap and just returned his gaze, blinking innocently.

"Quit while you're ahead Ron," Daniel said. He grinned at the bewildered redhead and turned to his own table. The tables were already set, though the food had not yet appeared. Harry and the twins moved to the other side of the Gryffindor table. Ron, Hermione and Ginny remained on the side next to the Ravenclaws. Hermione hadn't said a word since Ron's remark. Ginny kept looking at the doors, as if she were waiting for someone. It seemed as if Ron's remark had made her nervous.

"Who are you looking for?" Neville asked, appearing beside Ron. He sat on the bench between Ron and Ginny. She jumped.

"You actually. How'd the potions lesson go?" Ginny asked. Erian still looked decidedly uncomfortable in his box.

Neville's eyes widened as he looked at her. "How'd you know about that?" Andra crawled out of his shirt and onto the table. She looked expectantly into a small bowl next to Neville's plate. Erian grumbled from his box beside Ginny.

"Oh… I heard it around…" Ginny mumbled. Erian grumbled again. "All right fine." Ginny unlatched the box. The dannikit jumped from the box directly onto the table. He joined Andra to stare into an identical bowl next to Ginny's plate.

"What do you suppose they're doing?" Neville asked. He seemed to have forgotten his question. He and Ginny looked at the other kits. Kali'na, Lunia, Solida, Nildur, and even Fianna were all doing the same thing.

"Hey you guys look at the kits," Ginny said. "They're doing something strange."

Harry and the twins paused in their Quidditch conversation to look. Hermione was already staring at them and Ron just shook his head and continued to contemplate his arm.

Dumbledore stood up at the high table. " Let our nice… quiet… dinner begin."

Delicious food appeared across the table. The small bowls that the kits had been staring into were abruptly filled with a thick cream mixture. Kali'na and the others were already daintily lapping it up. "They knew it was coming," Harry said, staring.

"Of course they did," Hermione answered. She still wasn't looking at Ron. "They're smart."

"Look at the others though," Harry said pointing down the table with a Cornish pasty.

They all turned to look. The other dannikits were in various states of messiness. Lavender's black and white kit was actually sitting in its bowl of cream. Seamus was trying to keep his out of a pudding, and Dean was vainly trying to mop up his spilled pumpkin juice. His kit was drenched with it.

By comparison, their seven and the Ravenclaw four were calm and well-mannered. All eleven of them were neatly finishing their food already. Andra splashed a droplet of it onto the table, but before Neville could even pick up his napkin, she'd swiped it up with a paw.

"I think there was something in that tablet we fed them." George said, patting Lunia proudly. She whirred and swished her tail at him, but continued eating.

"Of course there was," Ron said, "It was a potion capsule. How else could it have made them say their names?" He absently served himself some roast beef.

Hermione finally looked at him. "How did you figure that out?" She asked. Her voice sounded tense.

Ron smiled the tiniest bit. " I learned from the best." Then he winked at her.

Harry's mouth fell open. The twins were smirking. Ginny was wide-eyed. Neville was oblivious. He was too busy trying to keep Dean's kit from climbing into his plate. Hermione blinked at him. "Oy Dean! Get her out of my plate!" An embarrassed Dean scooped up the still damp kit.

"Hello everyone," Rose exclaimed, coming up to them. Vestan was happily perched on her shoulder. To their surprise, she sat down at the Ravenclaw table, next to Lynne. "How's it going?" she asked cheerfully. The Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had gone silent around her.

"We're fine…" Lynne whispered, "but aren't you at the wrong table?" Anondir waved a paw at Vestan, who leapt from Rose's shoulder to the table. A bowl of cream appeared with a pop in front of him. He started eating. Rose helped herself to a shepherd's pie.

"No I don't think so," Rose replied. "I'm sitting next to you, so this must be the right table."

"Yes… but…" Reggie started. Ikarus mewled and she turned her attention to him.

Daniel leaned around his sisters. " You may not have noticed… but this is the Ravenclaw table." He smiled, eyebrows raised. Phantom had finished her cream and was now cleaning her paws.

Rose rolled her golden blue eyes. "Of course I noticed. Would you drop it? I didn't get a chance to eat lunch." She took a huge bite of the beef, carrots and mashed potato mixture that was the shepherd's pie.

"Whoa. What's the deal with your eyes?" Daniel asked. "They're different." His blue ones sparkling with amusement.

Rose turned to look at him. Her own eyes were even bluer than before. She swallowed, grinned and said, "Yes, they are." She winked at him and turned back to her plate.

A Ravenclaw fifth year came up behind her. "Excuse me, but what are you doing at our table? You're a Gryffindor." The attractive oriental girl smiled at Rose.

Rose turned, the blue in her eyes fading quite suddenly. They were solid gold, as she looked the girl up and down. "I'm Rose, and I'm eating dinner," Rose said, "What are you doing?"

"Well I was about to do the same. That's my usual seat." The girl said. She still smiled. "I'm Cho Chang."

"It's nice to meet you Cho. Why don't you sit over there?" Rose said. She pointed to the Gryffindor table.

The Hall had gone quiet. The entire student body was watching them. The Slytherin's table was still devoid of kits. The students of that house were glaring jealously around the hall at all the other kits. Except for the twelve with names, they were all exploring the tables full of food with immense curiosity. Malfoy was staring intensely at Rose. She didn't seem to notice.

"Oh I couldn't." Cho said, looking prettily confused.

"Why not?" Rose asked. "They've got the same food over there. And empty seats." She smiled. "I can see one right next to Harry actually." A bit of blue crept back into her eyes as she heard the sound of pumpkin juice being knocked over.

Cho looked at Rose, then over at the Gryffindors. Fred and George were grinning good-naturedly as they mopped up pumpkin juice that spread down the table towards them. Ron and Hermione were both looking over at them, though not with the same concentration as everyone else. Hermione's gaze kept flicking to him, and Ron kept trying to catch her eye, but both kept missing. Neville looked quite shocked and Ginny was still wide-eyed. Cho looked back at the Ravenclaws. Reggie and Lynne were both slightly bewildered. They knew that the house tables just didn't mix from stories Daniel had told them.

Ana looked at Rose, her dark eyes searching. Segan looked up from cleaning his bowl to do the same. The seventh year nodded and stood. "I think that I will go over there too. It's a bit crowded with all the kits here." She scooped up the smoky-blue Segan and walked around the Gryffindor table to sit next to George. He grinned and discreetly shoved Fred further down the bench.

With a final confused shake of her head, Cho followed and slipped into the still empty spot next to Harry. Kali'na immediately moved to stand on the table in front of her. The black kit cocked her head at the girl. Tentatively Cho patted her. She whirred faintly. This distraction allowed Harry the chance to finish mopping up his pumpkin juice. Cho helped herself to a pasty and chatter resumed around the hall. Though it was rather subdued and included many furtive glances to the blending tables.

Rose had already turned back to her food. Vestan was whirring loudly. Daniel looked quite amused and his sisters shook their heads, confused. Phantom was sniffing Segan's empty bowl. Ikarus and Anondir had curled up in the laps of their companions. There were three other kits on the Ravenclaw table. They were all at least partially covered in one kind of food substance or another.

Rose picked up her glass and took a drink. Making a face, she glared at the offending cup. Pulling out her wand she whispered, " Pumpkin juice makes me think of a spider, wish I had some apple cider." She put her wand away again and took a tentative sip. "Ah. That's much better."

Lynne glanced at her. "How does pumpkin juice make you think of a spider?"

Rose smiled. "It's just a charm. The house-elves in the kitchens answer to silly things like that. It's the only way to get them to pay attention." Vestan and Segan's empty bowls vanished with a pop. "Then again, most of they time they keep a very sharp eye on us and our preferences. I'll probably never have to do that charm again."

The meal continued on with no further interruptions, though everyone was curious about the meaning of the blending tables. There was much speculation. As everyone sat back with sighs of contentment, there was some movement at the head table. Snape leaned over and said something to Dumbledore. After a nod from the headmaster, he stood and raised his hands for silence. It took five minutes for the students to grow quiet. "I want everyone to know that the wildness of the Agoradan kits will not be tolerated in my classroom. Please make sure that they are securely fastened into their cages before you come to the dungeons." And he swept from the hall. A few seconds later, students started to leave as well.

"Well, that was cheerful," Ginny said. She looked at Erian. He was sitting primly on the table, cleaning a paw. "What do you think of that Erian?" He paused, blinked his blue eyes at her and then his gaze turned to the box. He stared at it with obvious distaste. "Hmmm… you aren't going to like being in there for a full class period, are you?"

"I don't even have mine," Neville said. "What am I going to do?" He looked slightly panicked.

"We don't have ours either," Hermione said softly. She glanced at Nildur, who was sitting on the bench between her and Ron.

"Must have left them somewhere," Ron commented. "It's just a matter of remembering where." Fianna was sitting neatly on his shoulder. She seemed perfectly all right now.

Harry, blushing furiously, muttered something. Cho didn't seem to hear him, but Ana did.

"You're probably right Harry," she said, "We left them in the classroom."

"What are you all talking about?" Daniel said, slipping onto the seat on the bench that had been vacated by a leaving fourth year.

"Our boxes are still in the classroom," Ana answered. Segan was lying on the now empty table, his tail waving gently.

"Well let's go get them then," Daniel said, grinning. "We've got lots of time before curfew. It'll be fun." They all looked at one another.

"G-g-good night," Harry stuttered to Cho. She smiled, nodded and left them. Harry turned back to his friends, a goofy grin on his face. "So what's going on?"

Fred smiled, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief; "We're going to the classroom." Solida leapt from the table to his shoulder, creamy gold tail lashing the air.

"To get our Dannikit boxes." George added. Lunia whirred from his lap. He grinned. "And apparently, we're going now."

"You're not going without me," Rose said from behind Daniel. " I don't even know if you can get in without me at this time of day." She gave George a reproving look. " I don't have Vestan's box either."

"And we don't want to miss a thing," Reggie said as she and Lynne joined them.

And so the twelve students and twelve dannikits left the hall together. With a silent sneer, the watcher followed stealthily.

"We're wandering around the castle, at night, on the second day of classes," Hermione said. "This does not bode well for the rest of the year."

"At least we're not alone," Ron said, " and we're not wandering. We've got a specific objective in mind."

"What are you two blathering about?" Rose asked. "Nevermind. Be quiet a second. Someone's coming."

"I hate to spoil your illusions Rose, but there are twelve of us," Daniel whispered. "We can't exactly hide in a niche in the wall."

"Why do we have to hide at all?" Reggie asked. "We're not doing anything against the rules, are we?"

The lack of response from the others made her eyes widen. Lynne groaned. "We're going to be expelled before we even learn anything!"

"They wouldn't expel us for walking around. There's still an hour before curfew." Harry said reassuringly. "And believe me, the three of us have done far more complicated things than going to a classroom to pick up forgotten boxes."

Ana smiled over at them. "Let's elaborate on that Harry. Wasn't there an incident with a troll your first year…"

"Or the basilisk your second…" Daniel said. Ginny shivered and Neville put his arm around her.

"Then there were the dementors third year," George added. He was looking at his sister and the boy with his arm around her a trifle suspiciously.

"And that twice blasted Rita Skeeter woman fourth year." Fred said. "I've always wondered what happened to her."

At that, Hermione burst into giggles. Rose glared back at all of them and hissed, "QUIET!"

Ron put his hand over Hermione's mouth to stifle her giggles. The other students froze. Rose peeked around the corner and immediately went tense. Harry heard her mutter, "Blessed hell!" He looked over her shoulder and around the corner.

Snape was standing directly in front of the window into their classroom. He was glaring around the hallway and tapping his foot impatiently. "Where in the name of all wizards is she?"

"I'm right here Severus," said a silky voice. Rose and Harry both jumped as a hooded and cloaked, but obviously feminine form stepped from the shadows directly across from them. They heard several swift intakes of breath behind them. "I'd love to know why you insist on meeting me here. It's not like I'm going to tell you anything."

"I don't know what you are talking about. What makes you think I was going to ask you anything?" Snape oozed.

"Severus I'm tired. I've had a hard day and I don't bloody care that your house has been shunned by the Agoradans. In fact I think they are marvelously smart creatures. If you keep summoning me for such inconsequential drivel, then you are sadly mistaken about the reason for my presence at this school." The woman turned to go.

"Wait! I… I have something for you," Snape said. He seemed quite agitated, and almost… eager to please. It turned Harry's stomach. He didn't like the man, but this was pitiful.

The woman turned back to him, "Yes?" She held out a delicate white hand imperiously. He gently placed a small, wadded up piece of paper into her palm. She didn't say anything more. Just put the paper somewhere inside her robes. "Thank you Severus. But if this is just another one of your paranoid delusional fantasies, I shall be mightily upset with you."

"I understand," Snape said. She turned and disappeared into the shadows again. Snape stood up straighter after she was gone. He stalked down the hallway directly towards them, muttering, "Stupid snob of a witch. I'm getting tired of playing up to her. If this goes on much longer, I may have to resign."

Rose turned slightly panicked eyes to the others. She quickly saw that Daniel was correct. There were too many of them to hide in any of the niches. She shooed them all hurriedly back down the hallway. They reached the last corner they'd turned. Rose pulled out her wand and aimed it at them all. "Effluvian effervescence," She whispered. They all erupted into delighted, incomprehensible babble. Harry, who had been standing behind her, was missed by the spell.

Rose turned back around and led the ten cheerfully babbling students' back the way they had just fled. Snape swooped around the corner and nearly ran into her. "Oh hello Professor."

The Potions Master turned completely white. "What are a gaggle of Gryffindors,"

"And Ravenclaws," Daniel added, cheekily. He grinned at the Weasley twins, and the three of them laughed boisterously.

"And Ravenclaws," Snape snapped, "Doing in this end of the castle at this time of night?"

"We were just fetching our Dannikit boxes from the classroom." Rose said, her smile and tone placating.

"We wouldn't want to disrupt your class tomorrow, Professor," Harry said.

Snape narrowed his eyes at the twelve of them. "See that you don't. Curfew is in forty minutes." And with that he swept down the hall past them. The Emmortal twins were giggling uncontrollably as he passed, but he ignored them. Rose watched him go.

As soon as Snape was around another corner, she and Harry ushered the still babbling students over to the window. One by one, they were pushed through. Harry gave Rose a curious look before following them. She looked around the hallway quickly. Before following Harry, she tapped the window frame three times. There was a faint shimmer of red light, and she stepped into the air.

And found herself facing ten confused and angry teenagers. They were all glaring at her.

"What was that?" Ana asked.

"I didn't like that at all," Lynne muttered.

"What spell was that?" Hermione asked, "I've never heard of it."

"I don't understand," Neville said.

"What happened?" Ginny asked.

"I don't appreciate being spelled," Ron muttered.

"What did you do?" Reggie asked.

"I charmed you all to talk of inconsequential things. We couldn't risk a slip up that would have tipped him off to what we saw." Rose explained. She walked through them to the pile of Dannikit boxes in the corner. "That was one of my own charms so I'm not surprised you've never heard of it."

"What exactly did we see?" George asked.

"Or rather, what did you see?" Daniel corrected. "We weren't looking around the corner."

"It was Snape… and a strange woman." Harry answered. He pulled Kali'na off his head and suddenly burst out laughing. Kali'na waved a paw at him.

Harry just laughed harder. Rose glanced over. "Okay, I didn't charm him. And the window would have dissipated it if I had. So what is he laughing at?"

Ron looked at Hermione. "The sight of Snape with a woman must have pushed him over the edge," he said dryly.

That set off Fred, George, and Daniel. Neville just shook his head at their foolishness and said, "Even I know that he wasn't with her that way. He was way too grumpy when he ran into us." This statement earned him an appraising look from Ginny and a grin from Hermione. He blushed. Andra whirred from her place on his shoulder, her tail wrapped affectionately around his neck.

Rose smiled at them all rather like a tolerant parent with precocious children. "They were meeting about something. He gave her a piece of wadded parchment." Rose handed Harry his dannikit box. Still laughing softly, he put Kali'na on his shoulder and tucked the box under one arm. Rose finished handing out the boxes.

Harry finally got a hold on himself enough to ask, "What do you think was on that parchment?"

"I'm still trying to figure out why you were laughing," Reggie said. "Trying to decipher the motives of a teacher is a bit beyond me at the moment."

"What do you mean Reggie?" Daniel asked, eyes still sparkling with mirth.

"I mean it's only my second day here, I got a new pet and started a brand new class, I know that what happened at dinner was unusual, and now we've got a mystery on our hands." She finished with a sigh. Ikarus did not seem to take her remark about him being a pet very well. His tail started lashing as soon as she said the word pet.

"Yeah, when do we get to do the easy stuff, like homework?" Lynne asked.

"I'm sorry you two," Rose said. "You've begun your lives at Hogwarts during a very hectic year. So far you've held up well." She smiled as she passed them their boxes. "Even if it is only the second day."

Harry spoke up then, though he made a note in his mind about Rose's remarks. "I was laughing because even in all the confusion in the hall, Kali'na stayed on my head. And Snape didn't seem to notice her at all. It struck me as funny. I supposed it's not really."

"Maybe Rose's spell really did affect you, and it was just delayed." Lynne said.

Ana smiled at the young Ravenclaw. "Charms don't work like that Lynne, they either work when you cast them, or not at all."

"Unless, Rose came up with one that could be delayed," Hermione added. Ana and Hermione looked over at Rose. The redhead was trying without success to coax Vestan into his box.

With a sigh she looked back at them. "I cast a single, simple charm that wasn't delayed in any way. Harry just got the giggles."

Harry looked indignant. "I do not get the giggles! That's a girl thing." This remark earned him six identical, female glares.

Even Neville flinched as Ginny asked softly, "Oh really?" The six young women in the room shared a LOOK, and they each began to grin.

Quicker than he could see, all six women whipped out there wands and yelled, [I] "RICTUSEMPRA!!!" [/I] But instead of falling to the floor helpless with laughter, Harry just grinned wide enough show all his teeth. After a silent moment, a chuckle came from one of the other boys. Soon all five of them were chuckling softly.

The girls stared. Hermione looked positively flabbergasted, Ana looked confused, Reggie and Lynne were staring at Harry with their mouths hanging open, and Ginny's eyes were wide cornflower blue saucers. "How?" That was all Hermione managed to say. Rose narrowed her eyes at Harry. His face seemed stuck in that huge grin. Then she smiled ruefully.

"Kali'na you little minx. You're already working for him aren't you?" Rose said. "Silly kit. That spell wouldn't have harmed him. At least, not much."

"You mean…" Daniel managed through his own laughter.

"Yes. The kits disperse or absorb magic. That's part of their own magic." Rose replied. "Why are you guys laughing?"

"Your," Fred started, before laughing again.

"Your faces," George finished.

Hermione glared at Ron, who quickly stifled his own mirth, but not before she aimed her wand at him.

The boys settled down after a few more minutes and Harry's face relaxed into a more natural expression. They all had their dannikit boxes by now, though none of the kits had actually gotten into them.

"You know, I don't think they like these things," Neville said. Andra was then glaring at her box disdainfully.

"Well we don't have time to change them now. We only have five minutes to get to our house towers before curfew," Rose said. She tried once again to get Vestan to go into his box. He looked at the box, then back at her. His expression clearly read, 'Yeah. Right. You first.' She sighed.

"We could change them in the morning, before Potions," Ron suggested. Fianna was completely ignoring her box.

"Well I know that Erian doesn't like his so, that's probably a good idea," Ginny said. She hadn't even tried to put Erian back in his box. He had sat on her shoulder and watched the others.

"Okay tomorrow then. After breakfast, or before?" Ana asked.

"How about a quick fix at breakfast and then we all meet here at break to fix them up even better?" Daniel suggested.

"Sounds good. Come on you guys. We have to hurry." Rose said. She started to the door.

A moment later, she was out in the hallway, waiting. Vestan was on her shoulder and his box was in her arms. Because of the lateness of the hour, the torches were at a low glow. Rose pulled out her wan just as Harry stepped through the window. She muttered something and her wand erupted into that sizzling silver white light that she'd used in the dungeons. She waited patiently as the others stepped through. Once all twelve students had stepped through she tapped the window with her glowing wand. There was another red shimmer. When she tried to put a hand through it, her fingers met glass. With a firm nod, she turned back to the others.

"What did you do?" Neville asked. Andra had once again returned to his shirtfront.

"I locked it," Rose answered, "Come on. We're late."

They started down the hall. The light from Rose's wand was enough to light the hall for all of them. Harry had the odd feeling that it only lit the area around them. He would even have gone so far as to say that if someone looked at them, that someone wouldn't see the light at all. Hermione moved to walk beside Rose. No one else was talking. They didn't want to get caught.

"You still haven't told me how you do that," she said primly. Nildur was staring at the silver light, fascinated.

"I'll make it one of my lessons," Rose said, her voice a bit tense. She was looking intently into the blackness at the edge of her light. Suddenly she stopped walking. George ran into her back. And others ran into him. Luckily, no one fell.

"What is it?" Lynne asked. She was in the middle of the group and couldn't see anything.

Rose sighed loudly. "I think we're all about to get detention."

"Detention?" Reggie asked. "You're a teacher, you don't get detention. The rest of us do."

"Who is it? Maybe we can talk our way out of it," Ron said hopefully.

"We aren't doing anything wrong. We had to get the boxes. It's not our fault that the classroom is on the opposite end of the school from our dormitories," Ana whispered.

"Actually it is," Filch growled as he stepped into Rose's light. "Students should never be out of bed after curfew."

"Pardon me Mr. Filch," Rose started, " I was just,"

"You were all just about to follow me to see the Headmaster," Filch interrupted. " Come along."

Rose tried again, "There is no need to bother the Headmaster with this. We were already headed,"

"No more talking out of you, you little… You are not a teacher yet and I'll not have you speaking like that to me!" Filch sounded outraged. His eyes actually bulged.

"But," Rose protested. Her eyes swirled green and gold.

"That's enough! Double detentions for all of you! And you can thank your Fellow Student for them." Filch stormed down the hallway. "We're all going to my office right now!"

Rose turned blazing green eyes to the others. Through clenched teeth she said, "We have to follow him, but don't worry about the detention. I'll take care of it." She turned back to Filch's vanishing back and hurried after him. The eleven others exchanged a confused and worried glance, before following as well. Just before they reached Filch's office, Rose paused and took Vestan off her shoulder. She lifted the kit to eye level with her. "Find Shadow and my sister. Bring them here." She put the dannikit on the floor of the corridor. After a moments hesitation he sped off down the hall. Without warning, Lunia leapt from George's shoulder and followed. The two kits disappeared around the corner. When George would have said something, Rose shook her head the tiniest bit.

The twelve of them crammed into Filch's tiny office. After a making sure they were all inside, Filch said, "I'll be back with the Headmaster. You wait here." And with that he shut the door and they heard the loud clang of a lock.

Reggie and Lynne looked at one another. Twin pairs of eyes shimmered with tears. "Detention! On our second day!" Reggie wailed.

Lynne sniffled, "Mum's gonna send us a Howler."

Daniel looked at a loss for a moment, then he said, "If she sends one at all, which I doubt, she'll send it to me, as I'm the oldest." He put an arm around each of his sisters. Neville looked terrified, Ginny was staring at the door intently, and Hermione was frowning at Nildur. The kit had jumped from her shoulder to Filch's desk. He pounced on a large square of parchment, tail lashing wildly. As Hermione investigated his findings George pushed his way to Rose, who stood by the door.

"What's going on Rose?" George whispered to her.

"We are waiting for Filch to return with Dumbledore," Rose answered calmly. Gold had returned to swirl with the green in her eyes.

"I know that, but why did you send Vestan for your sister and your cat?"

"She'll help us," Rose answered, " and before you ask, I have no idea why Lunia followed him."

George gave her a thoughtful look, but she didn't notice it. She was looking back at Hermione. The girl had picked up the parchment and was showing it to Harry and Ron. Fred was examining the various oddments around the room curiously. Ana was trying to comfort the twins with Daniel. She wiped their eyes with a corner of her robe. Neville offered a hanky to Lynne, another to Reggie. "They're clean. Gran told me to always carry a couple," he muttered when they glanced at him.

They smiled and muttered their 'thank yous.' Neville blushed and Andra whirred loudly. Ginny smiled for a moment, but her attention was still focused on the door.

"Rose," she said suddenly, " Try opening the door."

"We all heard it lock Ginny," Ron said. "No sense in doing something that we know will be useless." He was standing slightly in front of Hermione and Harry. The two of them were whispering over the parchment.

Rose reached over and touched the doorknob. "No biggie Ron," she said. She turned the knob, and to everyone but Ginny's surprise, it opened.

"Wicked," Daniel said, grinning.

"How did you know?" Neville asked Ginny.

"Contrary to Filch's belief, Rose is considered a teacher. The door responded to the authority behind her touch." Ginny explained. They all moved out into the hallway again. If Harry seemed to take a bit longer than necessary to pick up Kali'na's box, no one really noticed. Ginny continued, "Filch didn't lock the door with a key. It's charmed to lock whenever it closes and can only be opened by a teacher."

Fred looked at his sister appraisingly. "I think we misjudged you Ginny. You definitely have mischief potential." Solida tapped his nose reprovingly.

Ginny laughed, "No thanks Fred, leave me out of anything you're planning please."

"We weren't planning anything yet," George said with a grin.

The twelve of them stood in a huddle outside Filch's office. "We'll just wait here, for the headmaster. It wouldn't do for him to come all the way here to find us gone," Rose said. "Then we really would be in trouble."

"Yes you certainly would young lady," Cora said as she rounded the corner and approached them. She was cradling Vestan in her arms and Lunia was perched on her shoulder. Shadow walked beside her. Starlight was there as well. When Cora stopped in front of Rose, the two cats sat at her feet, on either side. Vestan leapt from her arms and into Rose's and Lunia leapt at George. Both were whirring loudly, quite proud of themselves. "What have you all gotten yourselves into now?"

"They are out after curfew Professor Jameson," Filch hissed as he appeared from the other direction. Professor Dumbledore at his side, wearing a sky blue dressing gown and a floppy nightcap covered in clouds. "And Miss Jameson was disrespectful of my authority. I recommend double detentions for them all Headmaster."

Dumbledore looked at the students. All the dannikits went quiet as his twinkling blue gaze fell on them. "What were you all doing in the halls after curfew?" he asked. Filch blustered, but Dumbledore ignored him.

"We were getting our dannikit boxes from my classroom Headmaster," Rose answered. "We got distracted by the kits once in the room and did not notice the passage of time. We were on our way to our dormitories when Mr. Filch found us."

Dumbledore nodded. "Do all of you agree that this is what happened?" he asked them.

"Of course Headmaster," they chorused. The Emmortal twins sniffled loudly. Their dannikits looked as upset as they sounded.

Reggie swallowed hard and whispered, "Will we be getting detention Headmaster Dumbledore…Sir?" Lynne gasped and tried to cover her sister's mouth, too late.

Dumbledore smiled and his eyes twinkled merrily. "No I don't think so. I doubt that you'll all be caught out after curfew again anytime soon." Filch sputtered, but he was once again ignored. "Now Professor and Miss Jameson, if the two of you would please escort the student to their dormitories? I believe they have classes in the morning."

"Of course sir," Cora answered. She took the twins by the hands. "Ravenclaws come with me please."

"I guess that leaves the Gryffindors with me." Rose said. With cheerful waves, Daniel, Ana, Reggie and Lynne went with Cora, but the two cats stayed.

"Miss Jameson, I'd like you to come to the faculty meeting tomorrow afternoon," Dumbledore said. "Now good night everyone." He turned to go back the way he had come. Filch followed, still sputtering furiously.

"Let's go guys, We are way past curfew now." Rose said wryly. They started down the hallway.

Within five minutes, they were at the portrait hole. "Merlin's earwax." Rose muttered. The fat lady was quite curious about what they were doing, but no one answered her queries as they stepped into the common room. It was only ten o'clock, but the common room was surprisingly empty.

Hermione collapsed into an armchair. "If the rest of the year is as eventful as today has been, I don't think I'll survive until the Christmas holidays," she exclaimed. Nildur curled up on her lap and immediately fell asleep.

"Well goodnight all," George called as he and Fred started up the stairs.

Ginny followed a moment later, as did Neville. This left the trio with Rose in the common room, sprawled across chairs.

With a jaw-cracking yawn, Rose stood and waved her wand at a tapestry. It swung aside to reveal a door, which opened at her touch. "See you three in the morning." The door closed behind her, and the tapestry fell to cover it again.

"I'm going to bed before anything else exciting happens today," Hermione said sighing heavily. She looked at Nildur. "Move Nildur, I want to get up." The dannikit refused to move.

Ron shoved himself out of his chair. Fianna was snoring softly inside his shirt. Ron picked up Nildur and offered Hermione a hand. He pulled her up and handed the kit back to her. She looked at him a moment before saying, "Thank you. Goodnight." And she went slowly up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. Ron's eyes followed her.

Harry turned raised eyebrows to his friend. "Come on Harry, my heads about to fall asleep on my shoulders," Ron blustered.

"Isn't that where it usually sleeps?" Harry asked, heaving out of his chair.

Ron just started up the stairs. Harry followed. They found Shadow and Starlight on their beds once again. Neither was surprised. Their kits were placed next to the cats and they changed quickly for bed. As they climbed into their beds, Ron asked sleepily, "What was that parchment anyway?"

"Not sure," Harry mumbled, "I'll find out in the morning." Kali'na slept next to his head, and Shadow at his feet. The same was true for Ron, Fianna and Starlight. The room was soon quiet but for the occasional snore.

A/N 

I have just combined what was formerly chapters 7, 8 , and 9 into a single third chapter.


	4. The Warning

Hermione was awake early. She had a lot of thinking to do. The situation with Ron was growing increasingly. interesting. At this early morning hour, no one else in the dormitory was awake. As she dressed for the day, she watched Nildur and Crookshanks where they still slept. The big cat had immediately accepted the dannikit. The two were now snoozing next to each other at the foot of her bed. With a wave of her wand, the bed made itself without disturbing them.  
  
Crookshanks opened one eye and looked at her. Hermione grinned. She'd never been able to cast a spell without his notice. Not even that simple one. Her roommates had wondered all last year how she got her bed so neat on her own. Since she had founded S.P.E.W. she had done her best to make the jobs of the house-elves easier. Nildur opened an eye and for a moment it appeared that she had a huge furball with one brown eye and one yellow eye on her bed. "Good morning," she whispered.  
  
The cat yawned, stood and stretched out long. Then he sat down to wait and see what they were going to this morning. Nildur watched him closely and then did exactly the same thing. Hermione giggled quietly and patted them both on their heads. "Come on boys," she whispered, turning to a wooden wall beside her bed.  
  
As a prefect, she was given a small private room; not big enough for the bed, but nice to have just the same. She called it her parlor. The little room consisted of a wooden partitioned area near to her bed, but somehow not taking up any space previously used by anything. It was magically soundproofed and cozy. This early in the year she had not had the chance to use it much. There was a small table and chair inside, and a few scarlet and gold cushions on the floor in the corner. There was also a larger than average bookshelf, already filled with her past textbooks and a few leisure books as well. She had suspicion that the bookshelf was not standard issue for prefects, but had not had a chance to confirm it as yet.  
  
Hermione went into her parlor, and picked up Nildur's box from the floor inside. The dannikit care handbook was on the table, open to the page about feeding. She picked this up as well and returned to the larger room. Nildur and Crookshanks were waiting on the bed. She smiled and whispered, "Let's go see if anyone else is awake."  
  
She scooped up Nildur, who climbed up to her shoulder, and started to the door. Crookshanks followed. The hinges of the door creaked as she opened it. She froze and looked back into the room. She did not feel up to an early morning giggle-fest with Lavender and the others. Parvati mumbled something into her pillow and rolled over. Her dannikit was curled up on her pillow. He stretched out a paw to touch her cheek and she quieted. Hermione let out a small sigh of relief and continued out the door. She tapped the offending hinge with her wand and the door closed silently behind her.  
  
She was about to descend the staircase when she heard a woman's voice. It sounded angry. Hermione paused to listen.  
  
"I don't bloody care if you are my superior! I can't tell you what is going on until I know what happened before!" She was saying.  
  
"Rose," a calm female voice started.  
  
"Blessed hell Moira! I know my bloody job!" Rose exclaimed. Then she sighed. Hermione felt a twinge of guilt for eavesdropping, but she didn't move. Rose gave a dry laugh. "I'm going positively barmy. Don't you already know what is going on?"  
  
"You know it doesn't work that way," said the calm voice.  
  
"I know. Look, you'd better go Sis. They'll be stirring soon." Rose said after a moment.  
  
"Yes. Same time next week?" the voice asked.  
  
"See you then." Rose said.  
  
"Oh and Rose," the voice paused, "you'd better do something about that cough." There was a soft laugh and then a pop.  
  
"Always left in the dark," Rose grumbled, "Right. about as often as the rising sun!"  
  
Hermione's foot started cramping from being poised to step down for so long. Her mind was reeling. What was going on? And what was she supposed to do now? She glanced down. Crookshanks was gone. Then she heard, "Good morning Crookshanks. Where is your mistress?" Hermione carefully schooled her features to hide her whirling thoughts and stepped down into the common room.  
  
"Good morning Rose," Hermione said cheerfully. "You're up early."  
  
"I could say the same," Rose said with a grin. She was sitting in the armchair in a line from the fireplace. She was facing both the stairs and the fireplace at once. Vestan was balanced on the back of her chair. Crookshanks was in her lap, writhing with ecstasy under her petting hand. Her hair was in its usual long braid. Hermione put a hand to her hair, barely restrained by a pair of barrettes above her ears. Nildur licked her fingertips, and proceeded to tangle himself in her hair. "So. Why so early?" Rose asked.  
  
Hermione sat in one of the other armchairs, tucking her legs beneath her. With a loud 'Mrowl!' Crookshanks leaped from Rose's lap into hers. Petting the cat, she said, " I had a lot to think about this morning. What with every thing that happened yesterday." Rose nodded. Hermione continued, "I'd actually like to ask you a few questions about. all that."  
  
Rose smiled, " I'll do my best to answer you, but I will warn you that there are some things I just can't."  
  
"That's fine," Hermione said. "First off."  
  
Nildur climbed up to the back of her chair, mimicking Vestan. "Why do we have dannikits?" Never in the history of Hogwarts have they even been studied, let alone handed out."  
  
Rose shook her head. "Wouldn't ya know it? The first one and I can't answer. Hagrid will cover it partially tomorrow I'm sure."  
  
Hermione sighed, but tried again, "How is it that you are a student teacher here? That's never been done before either."  
  
Rose smiled, "That I can answer. My sister was hired here, and since it would have been pointless for me to be a student, since my schooling had already surpassed the seventh years here, Dumbledore created the position for me." Vestan stretched down to tap her head with a paw, and then he draped himself all along the top, completely relaxed.  
  
"What about our class then? The one you teach? I don't even know what the subject is." Hermione said sounding frustrated. Her mind was turning over the facts Rose had just given her, but she needed more.  
  
Rose laughed, "I'll tell you all that tomorrow, in the class. Think you can wait that long?"  
  
"I suppose." Hermione thought for a moment before she asked the next one. "How did you know Harry should use a pillow to open the window in the Divination room?"  
  
Rose stopped smiling. "What do you mean?" Her gold eyes had gone flat, no gray yet, but the gold was faded.  
  
Hermione wondered if she should even continue. After a moment of silence, she said, "The boys told me that you told Harry to use a pillow to open the window. and when it hit the sill, the wall and floor fell away. How did you know he should use the pillow?"  
  
Rose frowned and said simply, " I can't answer that. I'm sorry." She really did look sorry. As if keeping anything from Hermione was hard for her to do.  
  
"Is there anything you can tell me?" Hermione asked, her tone subdued. Seeing Rose like that was uncomfortable. Hermione felt like she'd hurt her just by asking.  
  
"I can tell you that I'll be with the boys again for Divination today. That Potions class will be interesting to say the least. And modifying our Dannikit boxes will be enlightening as well." Rose paused and looked past Hermione. Hermione watched as the gold came back to full strength in her eyes, joined by swirls of blue. "Good Morning Ron. Won't you and Harry join us?"  
  
Hermione turned in her chair to see Ron and Harry come sheepishly into the common room. Two thoughts swept through her mind just then. The first: [I] Eavesdropping is becoming a tradition for us all. [/I] gave her another twinge of guilt. The second: [I] Ron looks especially cute when he blushes. [/I] brought a flush to her own cheeks.  
  
The boys came around and sat on the ottomans in front of the occupied armchairs. "Good morning," Harry said after a moment. "Sorry about that. We didn't want to interrupt." Kali'na was on his shoulder, watching everyone avidly.  
  
"You weren't interrupting anything," Rose said. "Besides, I'm sure Hermione would have told you two what I said eventually anyway."  
  
For one fear-filled moment, Hermione thought she meant the conversation she had overheard. But she was distracted from Rose's gaze when Nildur climbed down into her lap, on top of Crookshanks. The cat grumbled and with one annoyed yet tolerant glance, moved up to the top of the chair himself. The dannikit whirred appreciatively, and stared at Ron. Fianna popped her head out of his robes and stared back. Hermione didn't say anything to contradict Rose's remark, since it was at least partially true. She planned to tell them about the questions that had been answered as soon as she had a moment alone with them. As for what she had overheard, the apparent existence of Rose's second sister Moira, and the fact that Rose was here to do a job, and her sister knew about her cough. Then there was the pop at the end of the conversation. It had sounded a bit like someone apparating, but that was impossible on school grounds. She wanted to keep that to herself for now.  
  
"Hermione?" Ron asked, worriedly.  
  
She had the feeling he'd said her name several times. She smiled brightly at him. "Sorry, I was just thinking. Did you say something?"  
  
Ron blinked. She hadn't smiled like that since the summer holiday when. "I asked if you were coming with us down to breakfast. We figured that we should get down there early to get seats with the others."  
  
"Others?" Hermione asked.  
  
Harry grinned. " You must have been thinking awfully hard. We were talking about the other members of our group. We were going to do some quick modifications on the dannikit boxes this morning, remember?"  
  
"Oh right. Sure I'll come. Are we going to have time to come back and get our things for class?" Hermione asked, standing up. Nildur wasn't even surprised. In a single motion, he was on her shoulder, without a single grab for her robes. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Nicely done Nildur." He trilled and tangled himself in her hair.  
  
"I don't know," Harry said, "Better bring them, just to be sure."  
  
Rose smiled. "I'll meet you all in the great hall." With a wave of her hand, she turned and walked out the portrait door.  
  
Hermione turned to the boys. "I've got something to tell you."  
  
"What?" Ron asked, as Harry headed for the stairs.  
  
"It's about Rose. Unless you overheard that whole conversation we had earlier." Hermione answered.  
  
"Oh, yeah. We got to the stairs about the time she said she couldn't answer your first question." Harry called back. "Hurry up you two."  
  
"Sorry about that. We really were going to turn back to our room, but then you asked her that second question and we had to hear the answer." Ron said, sounding a bit guilty. Fianna had climbed to his shoulder and was staring into Hermione's hair at Nildur.  
  
Hermione blushed. If only they knew. But she had some serious thinking to do before she told them that she had done the same thing just minutes before they did. "Don't worry about it. Rose was right. I would have told you what she said anyway. Be down in a minute," Hermione said, going up to her room. The other girls were stirring now. To avoid talking, Hermione flashed her prefect badge and murmured something about prefect business. She planned on keeping the badge in her pocket until after breakfast most days. It was a nuisance when she was trying to prepare for the day. It made everyone nervous and no fun at all early in the morning.  
  
The girls left her alone as she dashed into her parlor and grabbed her bookbag. Nildur was surprisingly not unbalanced by her hurried grab for the bag. She patted him before dashing back through the girls in assorted disarray around the room. Hermione barreled through the door and ran smack into Ron on the stairs.  
  
It was like running into a wall. A hard. warm. softly covered.and nice smelling. wall. His arms caught hers before she could fall down the stairs. "Whoa! What's your hurry 'Mione? Breakfast isn't going anywhere." Ron said. He smiled down at her, blue eyes twinkling. "Unless you know something I don't?"  
  
Hermione swallowed. Why on Earth had her throat just gone as dry as a desert? "I didn't want to be bothered by the girls in there. They are rather chatty, even this early in the morning. They would have followed me if I hadn't hurried. Besides, we wouldn't want to miss out on the freshest food available, now do we?  
  
At her last remark, Ron grinned. "No we wouldn't." He pulled her down the stairs after him. Nildur and Fianna whirred on their shoulders.  
  
"What were you doing?" Harry asked. He was standing in the common room with Neville, Ginny, Fred and George.  
  
"Hurry!" Ron said. "The fifth year girls are about to come down." Harry's eyes widened. Kali'na twitched her tail. Those girls had all been giving Harry strange looks, ever since the incident in Divinations. He did not want to deal with them this morning, nor did any of the others. Even Ginny though that particular group of girls was outrageously giggly.

The Gryffindors all hurried silently out the portrait door. They met Reggie and Lynne in a hallway about halfway to the great hall. "Good Morning. Are you on your way to breakfast too?" asked Reggie.  
  
Harry smiled at them. "Yes we are. Think there will be enough left for us?" Reggie blinked up at him. Ikarus, sitting on her shoulder, put his head to the side and stared at him.  
  
Lynne frowned, "Of course there will be enough. Most of the school isn't even up yet." Anondir's creamy tail was wrapped around a curl of her brown hair.  
  
"Ah," Harry said, " But the best food is always out first. Then he actually winked at them. Ron stared. Harry was actually flirting! Harry never flirted! What was going on? Kali'na looked at him from her spot on Harry's head, and he would later tell the others that he was positive she winked at him. Ron came to the conclusion that the dannikit had had a relaxing effect on Harry. That or it was a confidence builder. He glanced at Fianna. She was whirring up a storm and still staring at Nildur. Or rather, at his eyes. They were all that could be seen of him from within Hermione's, admittedly rather amazing, hair.  
  
They all crowded into the Great Hall to find it nearly devoid of life. Professor Jameson was seated at the high table, alone. Rose was sitting at the front end of the Hufflepuff table with Daniel and Ana. There was a Hufflepuff there as well, but Ron didn't recognize him. They joined them, looking questioningly at the stranger until Reggie said, " Good Morning Chris. Haven't seen you since the train."  
  
"Mornin' Sis. I see you both got one of those dannikits." Chris said. He grinned suddenly. "So did I." He motioned to the bag at his feet. A dark gray tail could be seen sticking out of the top.  
  
"That's great Chris." Lynne said. "Now the whole family has one."  
  
"Won't you introduce us?" Ginny asked.  
  
Dan spoke up. " This is our brother Chris. A third year Hufflepuff. Chris, this is Ginny, Ron, Fred and George Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Harry Potter."  
  
"Nice to meet you all." Chris said, smiling at them brightly.  
  
"Ugh. How are all of you so cheerful in the morning?" Neville asked, as he sat down. "My head hasn't stopped pounding since I woke up."  
  
"You only woke up fifteen minutes ago." Ginny said, laughing. But she very gently handed him a glass of orange juice.  
  
"That may be true, but I feel like I never slept." Neville muttered.  
  
"I hope this makes you feel better," Rose started. "The modifications that we are going to do on the dannikit boxes this morning will be temporary. Just enough to get some of you through your Potions class before the break at lunch. Then we'll go ahead and do the permanent one." Vestan whirred at them all approvingly. The other kits echoed him.  
  
"So Rose, what do we do?" George asked as he sat down beside her.  
  
Rose smiled at him, "Good morning to you too George. First thing is to put your boxes on the table in front of you."  
  
Ron, who already had a mouthful of sausage, looked up at her and then mournfully at his full plate. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. With a sorrowful grunt, he moved the plate towards the middle of the table. There was much laughter as the others did the same. Neville's expression was pained as he slid his glass of orange juice away. Ginny looked at him questioningly when he put his box on the table very gingerly. He didn't notice. But Fred, George and Rose did. The twins narrowed their eyes at Neville.  
  
Before they could say anything to him, Rose said, " Now take out your wands." She glanced at Chris. He was watching avidly, but not participating. "Aren't you going to change your box?"  
  
He shook his head. "Nah. Misty likes my bag. She's stayed in there most of the time anyway. Why change what already works?"  
  
The others looked at one another, once again realizing that their dannikits were different from the others. Rose continued, " All right then. Now, I want you all to focus on your kits, point your wands at the boxes and say, 'Incantem Cubiculum!'" As she said this, a thin gold stream of light went from her wand to Vestan's box. It changed from a simple wooden box with a wire mesh screen across the front, to one covered in a pearly white satin. The cloth was neatly attached to all sides but one. The one side that was left open was the doorway, still wire mesh. Through the door a cushion could be seen on the bottom of the box.  
  
There was a moment of astonishment before the others followed suit. The stream of gold light became a deep red covering for Lunia's box. Solida got a midnight blue cloth. Nildur's box was swathed in a soft caramel cloth. Fianna's became a royal purple. Phantom's box became a deep emerald green. Segan's box was a dark brown, like rich soil. Ikarus's box was brilliant sky blue velvet. Anondir's box was a shimmering sea blue satin. Kali'na's box was covered in a cloth of deepest black. Andra's box was the brilliant green of new leaves. Erian's box was palest yellow fleece.  
  
"Well," Chris said. "That was certainly something."  
  
Rose smiled at him. With a swiftness that was startling, the dannikits sped to their boxes. Just before they collided with the wire mesh doors, the doors all opened and the kits were inside. They all started whirring loudly and in unison. The students stared at them.  
  
"I guess they like them like this," Fred said. "I know I do."  
  
Ana frowned. "I would have picked a different color for Segan." She was looking down at the dark brown box with some discontent.  
  
"Don't worry," Rose said. "They shall all be improved upon at break."  
  
"Can we eat now?" Ron asked plaintively. Everyone laughed and moved their kit-laden boxes to the bench beside them.  
  
As they enjoyed their breakfast, the hall began to fill with students. There were a few moments of confusion from everyone at the sight of several Gryffindors and Ravenclaws sitting at the Hufflepuff table, but soon they were all seated. There were several other students who switched themselves around as well. The only table that did not spread out, nor was joined by anyone else, was of course Slytherin. The members of the aforementioned house merely sneered at the intermingling students of the other houses. Disdain quite evident on their faces.  
  
Cora Jameson had observed the actions of her sister and her students with approval from her spot at the high table. She had personally made sure that the hall would be almost empty when the modifications took place, by scheduling the event with Rose the evening before. She had also made sure that the other teachers were not present when Rose further scrambled the houses. As the Headmaster took his seat he looked down the table at her and winked. Cora smiled. Nothing got past that man. He obviously approved. Severus looked a bit green in the face at the sight of Gryffindors so close to his house's table. Minerva looked about ready to crow with delight, though she kept a close eye on her students throughout the meal to ensure that the morning was not disturbed by an inter-house scuffle.  
  
The meal ended without a hitch. The novelty of the new seating was enjoyed by most of the students, and was much talked about. It had almost distracted them from the events of the first day of classes, but not quite. As Rose went with the trio and Neville to the dungeons for Potions, there was some speculative whispers as to whether or not Neville was safe to be around. He held his still aching head high as they descended the stairway. Rose had lit her wand with that brilliant white light once again. Hermione grumbled, "I really want to know what that spell is."  
  
"Later," Rose whispered as they stepped into the classroom.  
  
Most of the Slytherins were already in the room and at their seats. Rose went to her corner and put Vestan in his box at her feet. The stool and desk had been re-transfigured into their original states. With a tap of her wand they once again suited her. Sitting down, she waved encouragingly at Neville. Draco snickered. Rose glared at the back of his head. She would have said something, but Snape swept in and immediately started lecturing. He was continuing the lesson on the sleeping potions.  
  
Rose rolled her eyes at a few of his questions, but he did not notice.  
  
"What is the thirty-eighth use I listed for you?" " The amount of time the arrow root is boiled before you add the nettles?" "The optimum cauldron temperature for steeping the potion?" He got answers from various students, when they were Gryffindors he sneered and took points away. If a Slytherin got a wrong answer he merely told them to pay attention and went on with the lecture.  
  
"Mr. Longbottom," Neville jumped, and Rose could see him wince just a bit. He did not cower in his seat however. "Mr. Longbottom, how many milliliters of a perfectly brewed potion are needed to send a student to sleep for a solid six hours?"  
  
"That depends on the weight and disposition of the student Sir," Neville said. His voice was surprisingly unwavering.  
  
Snape looked rather startled. "Very well Longbottom. Let's say we wanted to send Potter to sleep. He's needed it in the hospital wing often enough. How much would Madame Pomfrey give him?" Neville thought for a moment. "Well? We don't have all day." The Slytherin side of the room snickered and the Gryffindors held their breaths.  
  
"Four and three quarter ounces Professor." Neville answered.  
  
"And why would he need that particular amount?"  
  
"Because he weighs about 160 pounds and he has a fast metabolism."  
  
Snape blinked and looked around the classroom. Rose narrowed her eyes at him. He grimaced and muttered something. "Sorry Professor, I didn't catch that," she called out.  
  
"Five points to Gryffindor," Snape said. His voice was like ice. There was a general moment of shock throughout the classroom. The Potions Master continued the lesson. They all had to brew more of the sleeping potion. This time there was no interruption from Rose and Neville's potion turned out perfectly. As they left the dungeons, the other Gryffindors congratulated Neville. He blushed furiously red. The Slytherins were all still in shock that their house leader had voluntarily given points to a Gryffindor. Rose walked up behind Neville. "Still got a headache?" she asked him.  
  
Neville looked back at her. His face grew puzzled. "Actually, no I don't."  
  
Rose smiled. Andra trilled from inside her new green box. Neville opened the door and the dannikit climbed out, up his shirt and onto his shoulder. She wrapped her tail around his neck and whirred loudly. "That was awesome Neville," Harry said. "You had him completely shocked. Not only that, but he gave you points!"  
  
"Neville you rule," Ron said. Fianna was already on his shoulder, whirring madly. She waved a paw at the still blushing Neville.  
  
Hermione grinned brightly. "I didn't know the answer to that last question. I'm so proud of you." Nildur stuck a paw through the mesh of his door to touch her hand. She touched the latch and he pushed the door open. Climbing up her arm he quickly lost himself in her hair.  
  
Neville nodded his head at Rose. "She told me to study that kind of thing. So last night I did."  
  
Rose smiled again. "I'm glad you took my advice, but it was you who knew the answers when it came down to it. Marvelous job. Come on. Time for my sister's class."  
  
"Oh right. The Cridders. I wanted to learn more about those," Hermione said as they climbed the stairs.  
  
"You want to learn more about everything," Harry said, smiling and not unkindly.  
  
"And that's why we love ya 'Mione," Ron said. He continued blithely beside Harry and Neville. Hermione gaped at the back of his head. Rose glanced back and saw her face. She slipped through the boys to the stunned girl.  
  
"What's the matter Hermione?" Rose asked. "Not expecting that?"  
  
Nildur made a snuffling noise in her hair that sounded remarkably like laughter. Hermione blinked. "No. I wasn't." Ron glanced back at Hermione and Rose as they all neared the DADA classroom. The two girls were walking with their heads close together and whispering. Nildur was staring at him from inside Hermione's hair again. "What do you suppose they are talking about?" he asked Harry and Neville.  
  
Neville looked back at the girls then at Ron. "You obviously," he said.  
  
"Me?" Ron squeaked, "Why on earth would they be talking about me?"  
  
Harry elbowed him in the ribs, "Because Pal, you just told Hermione that you loved her," Harry said brightly. He grinned at Ron's confused face. That grin spread into laughter as Ron's face slowly flushed with embarrassment.  
  
Neville looked carefully at Ron, and then at Hermione. "Yep, you did."  
  
Ron said nothing. They entered to DADA classroom to find the rest of the class already there. Neville continued to get congratulatory slaps on the back and huge grins from everyone as they took their seats. Ron was about to take his usual seat beside Harry, but changed his mind. Instead of having Harry between Hermione and himself, he maneuvered himself between them. In the end, Neville and Harry sat together and Ron and Hermione sat together. Neither of them said anything.  
  
Rose strolled up to the front of the class. Professor Jameson had not yet arrived. As class took their seats, Rose looked at the papers on her sister's desk. One particular parchment made her eyes narrow, but their color was undecipherable from where Harry sat. Vestan jumped onto the table and sat directly on the offending paper. Rose shifted her gaze to the covered cage on the desk and then around the room. Suddenly she frowned. Harry followed her gaze to a chair at the back of the room. Starlight was sitting in it.  
  
Professor Jameson rushed into the room carrying a rather large box. "Sorry I'm late everyone. I had to pick these things up from my quarters." She set the box on the floor in front of her desk and smiled brightly at the class. Harry was struck once again by the resemblance between the two sisters when they smiled. Something Rose wasn't doing at the moment.  
  
"What is she doing in here?" Rose asked, disregarding the fact that they were standing in front of a classroom full of curious students.  
  
Cora turned again and looked at her sister. Rose pointed at the black cat. The feline had stood and was now staring at the sisters in a rather direct way. "She's my cat. You had Shadow in your classroom as I recall."  
  
"That was different. That was required. She doesn't have to be [I] here[/I] now." Rose said.  
  
"We'll talk about this later Rose. Right now we have a class to teach, remember?" Cora said simply.  
  
Harry saw Rose's eyes shine green and was only mildly surprised to see an answering glimmer in Cora's. "Isn't that interesting?" Harry murmured.

After holding her sister's gaze for a moment, Cora turned back to the class. "Today, we are going to experiment with the Cridders." She motioned to the box. "In a few minutes, I'd like you each to take something from this box and return to your seats. I will then release the Cridders into the classroom. The room is charmed so that they cannot get out, but your task is to catch them all, before the end of the period, return them to their cages, and the real objects back to the box." She smiled. "Think you can handle it?" The students looked at one another. A nervous memory of Pixies ran through the class, but they nodded. "I have complete faith in your abilities."  
  
"Before we do that Professor Jameson," Rose said, "I'd like to know the reasoning behind the lesson." Her eyes were still flashing green, but not as brightly.  
  
For a mere second, there was tightness around Cora's mouth, but a little, red, seven-toed paw tapped her hand. The blonde teacher flashed a smile at Vestan and said, "I'm interested in seeing how all of you deal with the Cridders. I encourage creative management of the magic. This will help me to analyze where the students are and where I need to start teaching." She raised an eyebrow at her sister.  
  
Rose nodded. "Good idea." She glared down at her dannikit. The little traitor was whirring wildly as Cora stroked him.  
  
"I certainly thought so." Cora said. With a final pat on Vestan's head, she made her way to the covered cages at the side of the room. Lifting the purple cloth revealed a mass of shifting shapes. When her hand touched the cage door, they stilled and became a large pile of quivering gray balls of fur. "Well? Are you going to get the things from the box?"  
  
The students all rushed to the front of the room and started pulling things from the box. An old Gryffindor scarf, a deflated quaffle, a pewter goblet, a much-darned sock, a hairbrush, and many other assorted objects. Cora grinned, "Now, put them all where you would normally put such a thing. In your bags, around your neck, on the floor or the desk, it doesn't matter." They did what she said. Rose moved to the back of the room to observe.  
  
Cora opened the cage door. The Cridders climbed out and scattered. Within moments, they had disappeared. The students looked around in shock. Rose watched the sock under Harry's desk without blinking. Only her full attention helped her see it disappear and reappear in a fraction of a second. She said nothing. A moment later, she felt a tickle in the back of her throat. The longer she stared at that sock, the worse the tickle became. Rose felt a sudden weight on her shoulder. Vestan had rejoined her. He nuzzled her cheek. She put a hand on his warm side and swallowed ineffectually. She tried clearing her throat. If anything, the tickle grew worse.  
  
The students were all talking and laughing as they tried various spells and charms to determine which objects were Cridders. Cora wandered around the classroom watching and occasionally correcting a stance or a hand movement. Harry was laughing at Ron's attempts to de-spell the scarf around his neck. All he had managed to do was turn a scarlet stripe into one of brilliant blue. Around the room, the dannikits were trying to help. There were kits wrapped in scarves, chasing after balls and sitting in goblets. Kali'na, Nildur, Fianna and Andra were all sitting on their companions desks, watching their antics.  
  
Rose swallowed again. Her eyes began to water. She could almost feel them turning gray-green this time. "Remember," Professor Jameson said, gradually making her way towards Rose, "The Cridders may not have become those particular objects. They could be something else entirely. That's part of the riddle. Determining which objects are not Cridders, and which are." She looked at Rose. "Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to help?"  
  
Rose shook her head, unable to speak. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Neville all turned to stare as she began to cough. She waved a hand at them. They all looked confused. [I] "MOVE!" [/I] Rose wheezed between coughs. Ron grabbed Hermione and Harry and pulled them to the wall. Neville nearly fell over himself to get into the aisle and out of the way.  
  
Their four dannikits jumped to the floor and waited. Vestan joined them. Then, suddenly, fire flew from Rose's hand to surround the sock in flames. The kits formed a circle just out of reach of the fire. Rose coughing eased a bit. There was no sound in the room but for her loud breaths and the crackling of the fire. She approached the fire, wand outstretched and said hoarsely,  
  
"[I] Take this creature by the nape,  
Do not let it think of escape.  
Return it to its true color and shape!"[/I]  
  
A translucent tongue of flame stretched from the end of her wand to grasp the sock and lift it up. It slowly shifted to the shape of a Cridder. Rose's eyes flashed green and the flames blazed higher. It held a moment longer before it changed again.  
  
That tongue of flame held a thin black snake. It blinked gimlet red eyes at them all and hissed horribly before writhing wildly. Somehow it loosed itself from Rose's phantom grip and threw itself into the fire. There was an awful sizzle before the flames went out. There was no sign of the snake. In the silence that followed, Professor Jameson asked, "Is everyone alright?" There were affirmative answers from around the room.  
  
Then Ron said in a strangled voice, "No." Everyone turned to look at him. He was staring at Harry, whose green eyes were fixed on the now empty spot on the floor where the snake had been. His scar was a painful looking red. Rose started towards him. If the other students moved out of her way rather more quickly than usual, who can blame them?  
  
Ron started to reach a hand out to Harry. "Don't touch him just yet Ron," she said softly. Behind her, Cora started dismissing students to the Gryffindor Tower. Rose stared into the brilliant green eyes that were focused on the floor. She slowly took him by the hand and moved him to a chair. His eyes remained unblinking and his gaze never shifted from that spot on the floor.  
  
Kali'na jumped into his lap, mewling pitifully. She climbed up on to his head and lay down. Her front paws covered the angry red lightning bolt on his forehead. Harry blinked and looked up at Rose. His voice was husky as he said, "He's coming. and when he does, not even the Shards will save you."  
  
Rose's eyes went from worried gray to an astonished gold. "Where on earth did you hear that?"  
  
Harry cleared his throat. "The snake. Where is everyone? Are they alright?" He looked around the room. Rose stepped away from him and started pacing the room. She passed by Starlight on the chair a couple of times before stopping and staring at the cat.  
  
When it became clear to the others that she wasn't going to answer Harry, Ron said, "They are fine. A little shaken up, but Cora sent them to the Tower."  
  
"Then she was going to get the Headmaster," Neville said.  
  
After a moment Hermione asked, "Are You all right Harry?"  
  
"I'm fine. Just a headache. When"  
  
"You're a Parselmouth." Rose burst out suddenly. Her eyes were green again. Harry nodded. "You're a bloody Parselmouth and nobody saw fit to tell me!" She glared down at the cat and started tapping her foot impatiently.  
  
"Sorry, we haven't gotten the chance for that history of the last four years," Harry said.  
  
"Oh I don't blame you Harry," Rose said contritely. "I blame my sister's habit of 'Don't ask, Don't' tell.' This changes things."  
  
"What does it change?" Hermione asked.  
  
"My lesson plan," Rose said. But everyone had the distinct feeling that she started to say something else first.  
  
Cora, Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey came into the classroom, followed by four very confused Ravenclaws and three very concerned Weasleys. "What's going on?" Daniel asked. "The kits started freaking out in the middle of class. We all met in the halls and saw Professor Jameson."  
  
"I'd like to hear what happened as well," Dumbledore said. Daniel looked a bit sheepish.  
  
Before anyone else could say anything Rose exclaimed, "He's a Parselmouth!"  
  
The Headmaster merely looked at her. "Yes. A side effect of the attack on his parents and himself."  
  
Rose stared at him. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" The brilliant green of her eyes had faded a bit to be replaced by gold.  
  
"Does it matter?" Harry asked, rather nervously.  
  
"Of course it matters," Rose snapped. Ron and Hermione both made unconscious moves to shield Harry. "Oh, I'm not going to hurt him you two. I could care less that he talks to snakes. It's actually very useful in this instance. It's the fact that the existence of such a gift was kept from me. For crying out loud Cora, what else are you keeping from me?"  
  
"Ahem," Madame Pomfrey said, "May I check him over now?"  
  
"Why does she need to check him over? What happened?" Fred asked.  
  
"I'll say this again, I'd much like to hear that myself." Dumbledore said.  
  
"A sock turned into a snake," Neville begun.  
  
"Don't begin in the middle Neville. Why was there a sock in here in the first place? One not on somebody's foot that is." George said.  
  
Hermione started the explanations with interjections from Ron and Neville. Harry was being poked and prodded, albeit kindly, by Madame Pomfrey. ". So then it hissed and threw itself in to the flames," Ron finished.  
  
"But that doesn't explain why Harry needs help," Ana said.  
  
"I'm getting to that," Hermione said. "He stared at the spot where the snake had been for the longest time. Kali'na jumped onto his head and covered his scar with her paws. Like she's doing now. Then he blinked and told us what the snake said."  
  
"And what did it say?" Dumbledore asked softly.  
  
Harry spoke up then, "It said that 'He is coming. and when he does not even the Shards will save you.' It could have meant me in particular or all of us. I'm not sure."  
  
"It couldn't have known that you could understand it, so I'm sure it meant all of us." Ginny said. She was rather paler than usual. She, understandably, wasn't very fond of snakes.  
  
"What do you suppose the Shards are?" Reggie asked.

There was silence around the room. Rose exchanged a green and gold glance with Cora. Both looked at Dumbledore.  
  
The wizard spoke gently, "I think we should discuss that particular subject at a later date," Everyone started to protest. "Right now, I'd like to discover how, why and with whom, that snake got here in the first place."  
  
With a heavy sigh Cora stepped forward. "It was here in the shape of a Cridder sir. The things change their shape so often that I never thought to check out the one that seemed to prefer that of a snake. I'm sorry. This is all my fault." Her blue eyes shimmered with tears.  
  
"It's not your fault Cora," Rose said, putting her arm around her sister. "The one at fault is the one who hid the thing here in the first place." Cora looked at her, mildly surprised at the comfort offered. It was Rose's turn to sigh. "I'm mad at you for not telling me about Harry, not for the snake being here."  
  
"Who would have brought a snake here in the first place?" Lynne asked. She shivered. "They're nasty cold things." Anondir whirred and snuggled into her arms.  
  
"A certain name comes to mind," Ron said dryly. He exchanged a look with Hermione and Harry.  
  
Cora shook her head and said, "Had that lot in here yesterday. He wouldn't even go near the cage. No chance to switch one for the other."  
  
"What do you mean switch?" Daniel asked.  
  
"The number of Cridders in the cage never changed. I know because I had to count them for today's lesson," Cora answered.  
  
"Speaking of today's lesson, we never finished the task. There are still twenty something Cridders running around the room." Harry said. Madame Pomfrey had finished her examination and was merely watching him closely.  
  
"Not exactly," Neville said from across the room. He was standing next to the Cridder cage. It was full of the little gray fur balls and the door was still standing open.  
  
"But they never voluntarily go into the cage." Cora said.  
  
Neville reached inside and pulled one out. It lay in his open palm, trembling, but didn't change shape. "What's wrong with it?" Ana asked.  
  
"Rose's spell!" Hermione said. "It must have caused them to change to their true shape and kept them that way. It scared them so they went into the cage."  
  
"That sounds plausible," Cora said.  
  
"Miss Jameson, would you mind lifting the spell from the poor creatures? They won't survive long like that." Dumbledore said. "It appears your spell was more potent than you thought." His eyes twinkled at her.  
  
"Truth is sir, I didn't think. The charm just popped into my head. I'll try to lift it," Rose said. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the cage. "You might want to put that one back in and shut the door Neville." He did as she asked and stepped out of the way. Her brow furrowed in concentration. "[I]Incantem Finitem.[/I]" There was an almost inaudible sigh from the cage and the Cridders immediately started to change. Some into wands and socks and others into black pieces of cloth. "What are they doing now?" George asked. "Frenetic little things aren't they?"  
  
"I think they are trying to tell us something.," Ginny said.  
  
"If you figure it out, let me know. I'd like to see all of you in my office an hour before dinner," Dumbledore said. "Poppy, is Harry going to be all right?"  
  
"Yes Headmaster. He's perfectly fine, and that in and of itself is an odd experience for me. I've only seen him when he's hurt." She smiled at Harry, who grinned back.  
  
"Please try not to be late," The headmaster said kindly before strolling from the room, obviously thinking hard about something.  
  
Rose and Cora exchanged another look. "If you two don't stop that," George exclaimed, "I'm going to sic Lunia on the pair of you."  
  
Rose smiled and petted the white kit, who whirred happily. "She wouldn't hurt me," She said smugly. "Now, I believe we all have a small chore to complete now, so let's get to it."  
  
"What chore is that?" Lynne asked absently. She was watching the Cridders intently with Neville and Ginny.  
  
"Well we have to figure out what the Cridders want us to know, as well as get our boxes completed," Rose said. "And we only have until the end of lunch to do it."  
  
"Correction," Cora said. "You have until your fourth class of the day. All of you."  
  
"What do you mean?" Daniel asked. "I could understand the fifth year Gryffindors not having Divination, but what about the rest of us? I've got. erm. nevermind.  
  
Ana laughed. "We've got History of Magic. Won't miss anything but a nap."  
  
"You are all excused from your next class, what ever it is." Cora clarified.  
  
Reggie sighed. "We're going to miss. What are we going to miss Lynne?"  
  
"What? Oh um. Double Charms with Slytherin I think. Now be quiet. We've almost got it."  
  
"You definitely won't miss that." Ron said.  
  
"It is rather a pain to have them in the same class as our head of house. But we have Herbology with the Hufflepuffs afterwards so I suppose it works out." Reggie said. Ikarus mewled in her arms, his tone plaintive. She scratched his chin. He whirred loudly.  
  
"Wait." Rose said. "Did you just say you've almost got it?"  
  
"SHHHHHH!!!" Ginny hissed. She was watching the Cridders very closely, her nose not an inch from the cage bars. Everyone tensed. "Oh billywigs," Lynne said in the silence. "They don't know who put it in there either."  
  
Fred grinned, " Did you just say 'Oh billywigs'?"  
  
"Yes she did. They aren't allowed to curse," Dan said with a brotherly grin at his sisters. They glared back at him.  
  
"Well? What did you find out?" Hermione asked, curiosity making her eyes sparkle. Ron stared at her and Fianna just whirred on.  
  
"It was someone in a black cloak, an adult witch or wizard, they couldn't tell. They took one of their fellow Cridders and replaced it with the snake. They never saw their brother again. Just the snake being. It never talked but to hiss that You Know Who was coming." Ginny stopped talking as she realized what she had just said. She turned to stare at the others.  
  
"We're going to have to talk about how you know all that little sister dear," George said. "But now that we know everything the Cridders know, we should get that other little chore done. I do want to have lunch today."  
  
Cora smiled, "I'll have something sent up to you all. Don't worry." She motioned them towards the door.  
  
The twelve of them started out the door. Rose paused, looked at Starlight then at Cora. "Send her for Shadow and then send both to the classroom. We may need them."  
  
"You just told her sister dear," Cora said as the black feline left the room through her office.  
  
Rose sighed and continued after the others. The only one who had seen the exchange was Harry, and that was because Kali'na wouldn't allow him to go any faster than an old man with a walker. Every time he tried to speed up, she let her claws out to touch his scalp. He made a note to mention that little exchange to Hermione and Ron later.  
  
"Okay everyone, let's head up to the classroom. I already have supplies there," Rose called out.  
  
As they climbed a flight of stairs, Ana asked, " Aren't we just using magic, like before?"  
  
Rose smiled, " Yes. and no Ana. I've got some very special paint that we are going to use, but there is magic involved as well."  
  
"Sounds like fun Rose," Fred called from the front of the group, "Mind unlocking this thing for us first?"  
  
George grinned, " We wouldn't want to actually step out into thin air, now would we?"  
  
"That's strange. I unlocked it earlier to us. Only others aren't allowed." Rose said, approaching the door. She tapped the glass with her wand and muttered something. After a moment she sighed with relief. " It's just the house elves. They've already come with the food and didn't want to be interrupted.  
  
As they climbed through the now open window, Ron was busy trying to keep Hermione form yelling at Rose about the house elves. After a few moments, she calmed enough to follow the others. Soon the third floor west corridor was empty. Except for the silent watcher who smiled wickedly at the window before going back the opposite way than that they had traveled.


	5. Rhiannon

"Take one more step and I'll hex you worse than you can imagine," said a female voice.  
  
That once silent watcher squeaked in surprise. "Who.who are you?"  
  
There was a hint of laughter in her voice as she said, "At the moment, you can think of me as your shadow. Now turn around and march to that window."  
  
"I. I can't see you," he whimpered as he turned and headed towards the western-facing window.  
  
There was a snort of laughter. "Are you really that dense? You must be to expect to get away from me now."  
  
"What are you talking about? I'm doing what you said."  
  
"Ah, but that ferret-like brain of yours is racing around, trying to figure out who you can blame this on, and how you are going to get out of the trouble you are most certainly in," that voice said smoothly. They arrived at the window. "Now jump out."  
  
"What?! You want me to jump out of a third story window just for eavesdropping?"  
  
"Oh I'm sure you've done more than that recently, but we'll talk about that later. Now jump. I'll be right behind you. I'm your shadow, remember?" The now extremely pale watcher stared out into the sunshine. "Oh for the love of little apples!" And with that, she pushed him through. The twelve turned and stared as Malfoy fell through the doorway, screaming. He hit the floor with a thud and still he screamed. A girl stepped through after him. She looked down at him and snapped, "Oh get up!" She nudged him with her boot.  
  
"I'm not dead?" Malfoy whispered, in shock.  
  
"Of course not Malfoy," Harry said. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I brought him here," the girl answered. "He was spying on you."  
  
"And who are you?" Ginny asked. "And how did you get in here? Rose, you told us it was locked to anyone other than us."  
  
Rose sighed. "She's my sister, and she wasn't supposed to show up like this."  
  
"But her voice doesn't match the." Hermione let her sentence drop as everyone looked at her.  
  
Rose smiled. "I thought you might have overheard that conversation. That was my other sister, Moira. This is Rhiannon. My younger sister."  
  
"That doesn't answer the question of how she got in the room," Fred said.  
  
"Have any of you stopped to wonder how Malfoy got in here?" Ron asked. He was holding Fianna close to his chest. Her bright blue eyes could be seen just glaring at the Slytherin sniveling on the floor.  
  
"Rose, perhaps you'd better tell them, while I straighten out this rodent." Rhiannon said. She nudged Malfoy to his feet and pushed him to a corner of the room.  
  
"Can we help?" Ron asked, the light of battle coming into his eyes.  
  
"No thanks. I can handle it." Rhiannon said, smiling back at him.  
  
They turned their attention to Rose, who smiled, a bit sheepishly. "Well, you may have noticed the three empty chairs in the circle."  
  
"Oh no," Hermione said. "Don't tell me one of them is for him?"  
  
Rose sighed. "I honestly don't know. That's another thing that will have to be discussed at a later time. Those chairs are there for a reason however. I'm just not entirely positive who they are all for."  
  
Harry glared over at the pale blond boy who was having a wand waved in his face and getting quite a talking to by Rhiannon. He suddenly wondered how she had him so cowed. He wasn't even threatening to tell his father about her. That in and of itself was unusual. He seemed to be just standing there and taking it. Harry looked around at the others. "Since we don't even know the reason we are all here, then we can't really wonder what he's doing here, now can we?" Kali'na had climbed down to his shoulder. She mewled in his ear.  
  
"They're hungry," Ginny said as Erian took up the cry. "And so am I as a matter of fact."  
  
"The food is right over there," Rose said. She pointed to a table in the corner. There seemed to be enough platters of food on it to feed fifty people. "We'll eat and then finish what we came here to finish." As the others headed towards the table, she called to her sister, "Rhia, are you hungry?"  
  
Rhiannon looked up. "What? Oh yes. We should probably feed him too, before he decides to sue us or something."  
  
Harry blinked at her. "Only Muggles sue, and even then it's mostly American ones," he said as he helped himself to a mincemeat pie.  
  
Rhiannon smiled, "That's true, but I hear some wizards are adopting the habit." Malfoy was staring at her. There didn't seem to be any malice in his face. His customary sneer was gone. In fact he seemed most at ease with his situation. And that made Harry very nervous. He returned to his chair with a plate full of food and a bowl of porridge for Kali'na.  
  
"That may be true," Harry replied finally, "But his family would never allow him to do anything that closely linked to a Muggle practice."  
  
"Is that right Draco?" Rhiannon asked. "Sit here. You'll get your food after the others, since you weren't expected."  
  
Malfoy's pale blue eyes glinted briefly. "It seems you weren't either. And yes as much as I hate to admit it, Potter is right. I'd never file anything as crass as a lawsuit." It was odd, even surrounded by people who despised him, at a distinct disadvantage both physically and magically, Malfoy managed to look proud. The few moments in the corner with Rhiannon had given him a chance to compose himself and there was no longer any sign of the panic and fear that had been so evident when he fell into the room.  
  
Rhiannon nodded. Harry's thoughts were so evident on his face. She waited until everyone else had his or her plate of food and then she directed Malfoy to get a plate and help himself. She almost laughed at his expression. She imagined he'd never eaten buffet style in his life. Even at the tables in the Great Hall, everything anyone could want was always in easy reach from their seat. And even if it wasn't someone would pass it down. At least they did from the meals she'd seen there.  
  
Later, Rhiannon was sitting next to her sister, and Malfoy was on the other side of her. There was an empty chair between Malfoy and Neville. Neville hadn't spoken since Malfoy had fallen into the room. Now he was silently eating, keeping his eyes on his plate. Ginny glanced at him worriedly every once in a while. All four Ravenclaws had kept silent as well. They had heard what had happened the day before with the kits and had even heard about his being tackled by Atanis. The Emmortal twins were watching him warily. Daniel had told them tales of this pale Slytherin before. Daniel and Ana were merely watching and waiting. Hermione was trying to keep Ron calm, but not even food could distract him. He never took his eyes off of Malfoy. His brothers watched him warily as well, though George's gaze seemed to drift to Rose on occasion. Harry looked mightily confused. He was studying Rhiannon intensely. Her hair was a pale red-gold color and it curled just past her shoulders. Her eyes were a clear gray and he wondered if they changed like Rose's.  
  
As they finished their food, Rose spoke up. "Perhaps you could explain yourself Malfoy. Now that you can't claim that we starved you." The Slytherin looked at her for a moment, then around the circle at the others. He opened his mouth to speak.  
  
He stopped as a dannikit jumped into his lap. It was Andra. He gaped down at her. The little brown kit sat on his lap and looked up at him. Nobody made a sound. She co.cked her head to the side as if thinking very hard about something. Malfoy was completely still. Neville was watching with a vaguely disgruntled, and even a fearful expression on his face. Reggie and Lynne looked even more worried that he. None of them looked more confused than Malfoy himself however. After the longest time, Andra seemed to come to a decision. She trilled at him imperiously. Malfoy closed his mouth with a snap. She trilled again.  
  
"Will you pet her already?" Rhiannon said. "Then you can get on with it."  
  
Draco slowly put a hand on her head and stroked it. It was quite obvious to everyone that he hadn't done that very often. Andra gave a brief whirr before leaping back to Neville's lap. Malfoy looked around the room, his blue eyes slightly startled. He blinked a few times and they returned to their usual chips of ice. Harry wondered suddenly if Draco knew what it was to have a pet. He doubted it. Not a real one anyway.  
  
"I wasn't spying, not really," Malfoy said finally. "I was just watching."  
  
"Why?" Daniel asked. "What were you watching for?"  
  
His chin came up. "I wanted to see where all of you were going. I saw you come this way yesterday, but you disappeared. So today I came here first."  
  
"How did you know that we'd come here today?" Ron asked, with quite a bit of heat in his tone.  
  
"I wasn't sure you would. But I decided this wasn't a normal class so you might meet outside the normal time periods." Malfoy said, his voice cold enough to give a salamander chills.  
  
"No one sent you to watch us?" Hermione asked. She put a hand on Ron's arm to try to calm him down. Fianna wasn't helping much. She was standing on the floor by Ron's feet; her already bushy tail, three times its normal size and her bright blue eyes were fixed on the Slytherin with a concentration that was frightening.  
  
Malfoy scoffed, "No one sends me to do anything Granger. I'm no peasant." He looked her up and down saying nothing, but his eyes said it all. Hermione flushed and Ron's hands clenched into fists.  
  
"That's quite enough Draco." Rhiannon said suddenly. "I'll escort you to your class now."  
  
He looked at her solemnly for a second and said, "All I have is a study period with Professor Snape. I won't miss anything."  
  
Through his anger, Harry realized that Malfoy did not want to leave. This situation was getting stranger by the second. Why wouldn't Malfoy leave a place where he wasn't wanted? Rhiannon and Rose were whispering to one another. He could see Rose's eyes. They were bright green. Rhiannon's were still that same clear gray as before. She looked away from her sister and caught his eye. She seemed to smile as she said, "All right then Draco. You can stay, if you like." Her voice turned as cold as his had been. "If you make another remark like that, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Do we understand each other?"  
  
And Draco Malfoy, that proud, cold, 'pure-blood', rich young wizard said nothing. He only nodded once in agreement. That was the end of the subject.  
  
After a few moments of shock, Ana broke the silence. "Now, on to you Rhiannon. What are you doing here?"  
  
"I transferred here from Salem Academy in America to be with my sisters." Rhiannon said simply. "And please call me Rhia. Rhiannon is so long and formal. That would be like calling Rose, Rosemonde all the time. Takes too long."  
  
"Your name is Rosemonde?" George asked. "I never knew that." He sounded a bit hurt.  
  
"That's because I never told anyone." Rose said. " It's too old fashioned. Now, shall we finish the boxes?"  
  
"Yes. Let's do that. I'm quite curious as to what else we can do to them. They're quite beautiful as they are," Hermione said, touching her the soft caramel suede on Nildur's box.  
  
"Sure yours is," Ana said. "Mine is the color of dirt." She looked down at Segan's box her expression perplexed.  
  
"Dirt is a good thing," Neville said. "Don't knock it."  
  
"Oh I wasn't Neville. I just can't help but wish Segan had chosen something a bit. prettier." Ana said.  
  
"So Rose," Reggie asked, "What do we do now?"  
  
Rose smiled. "First thing is to get that table back over here in the circle and empty of food." She looked over at the still food-laden table just in time to see it, dishes and all, disappear. "My they certainly are efficient, aren't they?" Rose murmured. "Okay someone levitate it over here, and I'll get the rest of the supplies." She stood and went to the cabinet in the back of the room. There were various tins and cartons that had to be carried to the table once Fred and George had floated it over the circle of chairs and into the center.  
  
To everyone's surprise, Malfoy was the first to help Rose, but only after Rhia gave him a long indecipherable look. When everything was assembled on the table it came to 12 paint tins and six cartons. "First," Rose said, "The kits will chose the paint tin that is meant for their box. The cartons have the second and final element that we'll deal with in a minute." She put Vestan on the table and waved a hand at the boxes. Everyone else followed suit. Rhia and Draco watched as each kit went unerringly to a single tin. There was no hesitation from any of them.  
  
"Now, pull their tin over to you and open it up." As they did what she said, there were some shocked gasps. Everyone stared into his or her paint tins. Draco leaned just slightly in Rhia's direction to see Rose's paint. Harry looked up in time to see the gray-eyed girl raise an eyebrow at him from across the table. She hadn't moved at all, but he got the sudden feeling that she'd moved a good foot away from Malfoy in her head. It was the strangest thing. Yet another in a series of things that occurred around that girl. He looked back into his paint. It was the most beautiful paint he had ever seen in his life. It wasn't one color. It was all colors, swirled together, shimmering, moving through each other, but not mixing in the slightest. He could have watched that paint swirl forever.

So it seemed could everyone else. The room was completely silent. Until all the dannikits set up a ruckus at once and Rhia said sharply, "Rose, stop that." The auburn-haired girl looked over at her sister. Vestan stretched from where he sat on the table to put a paw on either of her cheeks and look into her eyes. Her eyes were shifting colors, from gold to green to gray to blue and a few others that were un-nameable. She blinked rapidly at her kit. And then looked around the table at the others. The other kits were in various states of precariousness as they tried to block their companion's vision.  
  
Kali'na was on Harry's head, her tail swept over his eyes. Fianna had clawed her way up Ron's shirt to put a paw on his nose, forcing his eyes to cross. Nildur had thrashed around in Hermione's hair until a large bit of it fell across her face. Lunia and Solida draped themselves on the arms of the Weasley twins, covering their eyes with their fluffy tails. Anondir and Ikarus had merely stretched across the top of their tins. Closing off the view of the paint, without touching it. Phantom had stretched up to cover Daniel's eyes with her paws. Segan managed somehow to get on Ana's shoulder, twist around and get nose to nose with her. Andra flipped up Neville's tie until it covered one eye. The other she blocked with her tail. Erian merely trilled at Ginny and sat in front of her. Strangely, her vision didn't really need blocking as just his presence got her attention. Once he had it, the soft brown kit approached Malfoy. He was still leaning towards Rose; his eyes fixed on her paint.  
  
From everyone else's point of view it looked quite odd. It was like he was frozen in that position. Rhia still hadn't moved, and those cool gray eyes watched Erian. The kit stretched up on his hind-legs then put one paw on Malfoy's chest, the other on his chin, and mrowled in his face. The Slytherin blinked, and then moved to rebalance himself in his chair, and put a hand on the kit before could fall. "What the devil is that stuff?" he asked. He petted Erian a few more times before the kit returned to Ginny. Her blue eyes were confused as she cuddled her kit.  
  
Rose took a deep breath. "That stuff is Fate paint. I had forgotten the danger. Many a witch and wizard has wasted away while watching it. It's used to paint important objects, helps the user to discover the fate of the objects and often themselves. We are going to use it today on the boxes." Her eyes had returned to gold. "I'm sorry all of you."  
  
"Don't worry about it Rose," George said reassuringly. "Our kits were here to save the day."  
  
"So was Rhia," Harry said. Both Rhiannon and Draco looked at him then. Her face was unreadable and his cold.  
  
"Why are you using such a valuable paint on a carry box for a dannikit?" Malfoy asked. A faint blush touched his pale cheeks as all 12 dannikits turned to stare at him.  
  
"Because, Draco," Rhia said calmly, "They aren't normal, not even for Dannikits. Which is saying a lot considering Agoradans are quite unusual anyway."  
  
"How do you know the paint is valuable?" Fred asked.  
  
Malfoy looked like he dearly wanted to make a remark about money then, but Rhia met his eye with her cool gray gaze and all he said was, "My father had something painted with it once. I never saw it. He." He stopped, looked disgruntled and then looked down at his hands.  
  
Harry exchanged a look with Ron and Hermione. That was certainly interesting. Rose cleared her throat, "Well, we have a lot to do now, and only this class period to do it in. I want all the kits on the table, next to the paint tins. Now everyone take out your wands. Put your free hand on the kit, and stick the end of your wand into the paint." Harry stared as his wand seemed to soak up the swirling paint. The hand he kept on Kali'na was like an anchor that saved him from being caught by the colors again. He heard Rose's voice say, as if from a distance, "Now touch the wand tip to the top of your box." He did as she said. The paint flowed smoothly out of his wand again, to pool on the top of the box. There were blinding flashes of light all around the table.  
  
His vision slowly returning, Harry saw everyone else blinking too. "Wicked." Daniel said. He was staring down at his box. Harry looked at it too. It was a picture of two sharp, long bladed daggers, crossed in X. There was a thin line of brass down the length of each blade. The handles looked like they were wrapped in brass dragon scales. They did indeed look wicked against the dark green of the box.  
  
Harry looked at his own. Slashing across the dark black of his box was a silver lightning bolt. It was the exact shape of his scar. It shimmered as he watched. He looked around the table at the other boxes. They all had an image on top now.  
  
Across the top of Ron's purple box was a club. There was leather wrapped around the handle to form a grip. Hermione had an open book, and a quill displayed attractively on hers. He could see Fred's blue box and the long staff that stretched from one corner to the other. George's deep red showed an archery bow and a quiver full of arrows with gold and green fletching. He couldn't see Rose's box. Next to Daniel, he could see Reggie's box. Her sky blue box now had white puffy looking clouds on top. Her sister's was covered in white-capped waves, like a stormy sea. Ana's once plain dirt- brown box now had what looked like a myriad of gray stonework all across the top. Ginny's pale yellow box was covered in animal paw-prints. Neville's had vines of varying shades of green twining across the top. Rhia was smiling at everyone, especially him. Harry forced himself to look at Rose. Her box was now tilted a bit so he could see it. There was of all things, a rose on the top. But it was a rose with petals of flame.  
  
"They're finished," Rose said with satisfaction in her voice. Everyone started admiring everyone else's box. Malfoy sat quietly, watching them. Rhia frowned and said something to him. He jumped and looked at her, startled.  
  
"What do you suppose she said?" Ron asked Harry. He was still watching Malfoy closely. Fianna was ignoring him however. She was staring at the top of Ron's box.  
  
"I don't know Ron. I'm not a mind reader. What do you suppose these pictures mean?" Harry said. Kali'na was back on his head, her paws over his scar.  
  
"I can answer that," Rose said. "But not quite yet. There is one more thing to do."  
  
"You just said they were finished." Ana said. Segan looked quite pleased with the box now.  
  
"They are finished, but we are not." Rose answered. She looked at her sister.  
  
Rhia stood up. "Come on Draco. We have to take the rest of the paint to the Headmaster. It's too dangerous to leave here."  
  
"I'm not an errand boy." He snapped. She just looked at him, saying nothing. He stood and looked down his nose at her. Of course since she was shorter even than Rose, this was the only way he could look at her. Still she said nothing. He narrowed his eyes at her.  
  
Her expression didn't change as she added, "Pour the remnants into one tin. We'll just take that one to Dumbledore." Everyone waited to see what he would do. She stepped away from him, to pat Vestan on the head. "See you later little fellow. Would you all mind passing the paint to Draco?" Stunned, they did so. After a defiant moment, he started combining the paint. It took two tins to hold it all. Picking up them both, Malfoy started to the door without a word. Before following him, Rhia looked at Harry. Some strange emotion passed over her face just as she smiled and turned away. Unlike her sister, whose emotions were always as plain as the eyes on her face, Rhiannon Jameson was unreadable.  
  
The door closed behind her. Everyone turned to look at Rose. "Start talking." George ordered. "Why didn't you tell us your sister was here? Why haven't we seen her before now? And why on earth did you let Malfoy watch the completion of the boxes?"  
  
"Why was he being so nice?" Neville asked. He and Ginny were both holding their kits close. "He was almost human."  
  
"Malfoy couldn't ever be human. Are you forgetting what he did just yesterday?" Ron exclaimed. He scooped up Fianna from the table and tucked her into a pocket of his robes.  
  
"We haven't forgotten Ron," Hermione said. She put a hand on his arm. "I think there is more here than even Rose knows."  
  
"Yes, there is. I can only say that Rhiannon's appearance today was as much a surprise to me as it was to you. I'm still not sure why Malfoy was even here, and Rhiannon knows something that she hasn't told me yet about all that business and the reason for his continued presence." She sighed and traced the rose on her box with a finger. "Now about these. I think it's time we figured out a few of them."

"You don't know?" Reggie asked. She was stroking Ikarus with one hand and with the other lightly touching the clouds on her box.  
  
"I know mine refers to my ability to use fire as a weapon, and to my name. Yours is obviously something similar, only with air and your sister's with water. Ana, yours is something to do with earth and stone, I'm not sure what. The others. I don't know."  
  
"Mine has to do with plants," Neville said happily.  
  
"And mine with animals." Ginny said. "That explains what happened with the Cridders, a bit."  
  
"Ours are weapons." Fred said. "Though I think Daniel got the best part of that deal. Those knives look positively,"  
  
"Wicked." Daniel finished. "I don't know about that. George has some rather sharp-looking arrows."  
  
"Mine looks like a bludger bat." Ron said, frowning.  
  
Fred looked down at it. "Nah, a bludger bat is shorter and not so large at the head."  
  
"Looks like a fair sized club to me Ron." Harry said. "Mine is just a rendition of my scar."  
  
"Don't be so sure Harry," Rose said. " I think the pictures are linked somehow to powers that haven't been discovered yet. They aren't just representations of us." She paused. "Well, now that we have those at least partially established, it's time to open the cartons. Every other person take one and open it up." They did. Inside each carton were four thin cords, each one strung with a small piece of stone. "The larger one goes to you and the person to your left, the smaller matching one goes to your Dannikit. The one that should be yours will be warm in your hand, the other will be cold. Be sure to take the one meant for you."  
  
Harry stared down at the small stones in his hand. The longer cords hung down from his hand. After a moment, he picked up one and handed it to Daniel. "This is yours, and this one too." Phantom took the smaller cord and stone from Harry's hand. He turned to Kali'na. "I guess these are ours girl." He looked back at Rose.  
  
"Now, tie them around your neck, comfortably loose, but tight enough that they won't come off over your head." She said, doing the same thing herself with the one Neville handed her.  
  
Before she put it on, Hermione asked, "Why don't we want them to come off?" Rose didn't answer. Hermione shrugged and put on the necklace. They all put the smaller ones on their kits as well. A light seemed to flicker in each of the stones. Hermione gasped, "These are the Shards. or at least, most of them." Rose smiled, but said nothing. "Whatever they are." Hermione added.  
  
"These little things are what that snake was so worried about?" Daniel asked.  
  
"No. If you'll recall, it said that not even the Shards would save us." Harry said, staring down at the little stone now around his neck. He looked at his box and then at Kali'na. "They must be powerful if Voldemort wanted them mentioned."  
  
Reggie and Lynne gaped at him. "You just said." Lynne's voice faded.  
  
"Of course he did." Hermione said. "Fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself." {Sorry, had a movie moment there.}[smile]  
  
"We didn't figure out what your picture meant 'Mione." Ron said, looking closely at her box.  
  
"It's books of course," Hermione answered. "We pretty much already know I'm good with those." There was a hint of disappointment in her voice.  
  
Rose smiled, "That's true. But like I said before, there's more to these pictures than meets the eye."  
  
George looked at her appraisingly. "Was that a joke? From Rose?"  
  
"Nothing on the scale of yours I'm sure," Rose said, grinning at him. "Now, I'd appreciate it if all of you would just tuck the necklaces under your collars. At least until we talk to Dumbledore. You all have a class to get through now."  
  
"How are we supposed to concentrate on Herbology now?" Ron asked.  
  
"Just be glad it's not History of Magic," Ginny grumbled.  
  
"That's a bummer. Hey maybe if you try to figure out what those paw-prints belong to, you'll be able to stay awake." Neville suggested.  
  
"Thanks Neville. I will," She smiled at him. Lucky for him, her brothers didn't see that smile. It was a bit on the flirtatious side.  
  
As they all started to pack things up, Harry turned to Ron and Hermione. "I think we need to have another meeting in the Common Room."  
  
"But Harry," Ron started, "We have that meeting with Dumbledore. Surely some of our questions will be answered then."  
  
"Ron, you know as well as I do that meetings with Dumbledore often raise more questions than they answer," Harry said.  
  
"He is right though Harry. We don't know what that meeting is about, so we shouldn't plan anything yet." Hermione said.  
  
"Well it's doubtful that the meeting will be about Rhia. And that's what I want to talk to you guys about." Harry said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Ron asked. He patted the pocket where Fianna was nestled. She whirred softly.  
  
"I think I know her from somewhere." Harry said. "It's the strangest thing. she's ringing even more bells in my head than Rose does."  
  
"Huh?" Ron asked again. "You know Rose?"  
  
"No. I don't think I do. It just feels like it. The feeling is even stronger with Rhia." Harry said.  
  
"That's odd Harry. I felt like I had known Rose forever earlier, but some people just bring that out. It's just the way they are. It doesn't mean anything." Hermione said.  
  
Rose cleared her throat. She was standing by the door. "Shall we?" Everyone tucked the Shard necklaces into their shirts and headed out the door. "You seem a bit preoccupied Harry. What's going on?" Rose asked. He had been the last one out the door. She had joined him quickly, and tapped the window frame behind her, locking it.  
  
"I was just thinking," Harry said.  
  
"About what?" Rose asked, her eyes a friendly gold.  
  
"What year is Rhia in? She wasn't wearing any house colors."  
  
"She'd be in Fifth year I believe," Rose answered, "As for her house, I don't know. She just showed up and may not have been Sorted yet."  
  
"That's true I suppose," Harry said.  
  
"Why were you wondering?"  
  
Harry shook his head, "Just curious."  
  
A few moments later, the group split up to go to their separate classes. Rose went with the fifth year Gryffindors to Herbology. She continued to walk beside Harry. Ron and Hermione walked ahead of them and Neville behind. Harry realized suddenly that Hermione had grown taller over the break and now came to Ron's chin. That particular red head was now taller then Harry, but not by much. Rose was actually shorter than Hermione. It occurred to him that all this sudden thought about height was odd. Until he realized why he was doing it. Rhia. She was shorter than Rose. Which meant that her head would come to his shoulder. He frowned at himself as Kali'na started whirring from her place on top of his head. They slipped into Greenhouse 4, trying not to interrupt Professor Sprout. She merely nodded to them and continued lecturing on the Phileo plant.  
  
After the lesson, They approached her to see what they missed. "Not a thing dears. What a lovely carry-box Neville. Whatever inspired you?"  
  
Neville flushed a bit and said, "Your class Professor." It wouldn't do to tell her it was Fate paint and he didn't really know what the vines meant.  
  
The Herbology professor smiled a very pleased smile and said, "That's marvelous Neville. Just marvelous." Then she shooed them all out of the greenhouse so she could lock up.  
  
"That was smoothly done Neville," Ron said.  
  
"Well it must be at least partially true. I do very well in her class after all." Neville answered. He patted Andra, who was on his shoulder with one hand and the other held his carry box.  
  
"What do we do now?" Harry asked.  
  
"We are to meet the others in the Great Hall in about 30 minutes. From there we'll head to Dumbledore's office." Rose answered him.  
  
"Why don't we go directly there?" Harry asked.  
  
Rose looked at him, her eyes blue with amusement. "Most students do not have the intimate knowledge of the castle that you have Harry. They don't know the location of the Headmaster's office." Harry flushed. Kali'na, now curled in the crook of his arm trilled faintly. Rose grinned. "Let's go to the Common Room. I have to pick up a few things." There were murmurs of agreement and they all headed inside.  
  
Ron, Harry, Neville, Fred and George stepped into the Great Hall, their kits in their arms or on their shoulders. Ron had his wizard chess board under one arm. "Who's for a game while we wait for the ladies?" he asked cheerfully.  
  
Daniel sauntered up. "I'll take that offer. Anybody know why girls have to fuss with their clothes when they are just seeing the headmaster?" He asked as he and Ron set up the board.  
  
"Not a clue mate," Fred said, grinning. "But isn't it nice when they do?"  
  
Daniel grinned as he casually moved a pawn across the board. "Isn't it though?"  
  
"Speaking of girls," George said, nodding his head at the door.  
  
Harry looked up from watching the chessboard, expecting to see Hermione and the others. Instead he saw Rhia. She was walking with Malfoy over to the Slytherin table. "She couldn't be. Could she?" he said.  
  
"Be what? A Slytherin?" Neville shook his head. "She's too nice."  
  
"No house colors yet," Ron said, glancing up from the board briefly.  
  
Daniel frowned slightly as his bishop was beaten to a pulp by Ron's pawn. "Classy girl like that shouldn't be seen with slime like him. That skinny girl, what's-her-name, Pansy. She's more his speed."  
  
"She's not with him," Harry said. "They're walking together is all." Rhia and Malfoy left the room after he had said something to Goyle.  
  
The other boys looked at Harry. Their expressions said clearly, 'So that's the way of it then.' Harry didn't notice as he was staring after Rhia. It didn't surprise him at all when she turned just a bit in the doorway and looked directly at him. She smiled a 'just for you' smile and rolled her eyes a bit before going after Malfoy.  
  
"Better mind your queen Daniel," Fred said, bringing Harry back to the room. Just in time to see Cho Chang glide into the room with a couple other Ravenclaw girls. Just the day before, the sight of her had made his inside clench up in knots and his palms sweat. Now he just thought she was a very pretty, very nice friend. That thought echoed in his head the whole time it took her to cross the Hall to stand next to him.  
  
"Good afternoon Harry," she said sweetly. "What are you boys up to?"  
  
"Just killing time before a study meeting," Harry said, smiling uncomfortably at her.  
  
"A study meeting this early in the year? What ever could you have to study?" She looked prettily confused.  
  
"This and that," George said, coming to Harry's rescue. "And there is the rest of our study group." He motioned to the door where Rose, Hermione, Ginny, Ana, Reggie and Lynne waited. "Come on Ron. Haven't you finished trouncing Daniel yet?"  
  
Ron flashed his brother a grin and said with no lack of pride in his voice, "Checkmate Daniel. Sorry Pal. Hey, be comforted that you lasted longer than Harry."  
  
Daniel stared down at the board, bewildered. "How?" he muttered as he helped Ron pack up the board and pieces.

Harry waved at Cho before following the others to the doorway. She stared after him. As he got to Rose he thought he saw an angry frown distort her pretty mouth, but then she smiled and waved back at him and he dismissed the thought as nonsense.  
  
"That was certainly interesting Harry," Rose commented. Her eyes were a brilliant blue and she looked like she dearly wanted to burst into laughter.  
  
"I've always wondered about that girl," Hermione murmured. "Now I know."  
  
"What's that 'Mione?" Ron asked as they all headed toward Dumbledore's office.  
  
"I'll tell you later Ron." She answered, glancing over at a thoughtful Harry.  
  
They all stared at the Griffin statue. "How are we to get in if we don't know the password?" Ana asked.  
  
Rose smiled. "Everlasting Gobstoppers." The Griffin moved out of the way and Rose motioned them all through.  
  
"What's an Everlasting Gobstopper?" George asked her as they climbed a flight of stairs.  
  
Rose grinned at him. "It's a Muggle candy. I've got a few. I'll show you later." As they all crowded into Dumbledore's office, Fawkes squawked a greeting.  
  
"Hello Fawkes," Harry said, "Professor Dumbledore about?"  
  
"I'm right here Harry," the headmaster said, coming in through a side door. "Welcome to my office everyone. Would you all come into the conference room now please?" He sounded tired. None of them had ever heard the headmaster like that before. Grieving yes, but not tired.  
  
They followed him into the room he had just come from. There were enough chairs for them all. They sat, and looked around them wonderingly. There were a countless number of things in the room that they would have loved to investigate. However, the most intriguing thing in the room was a painting. It showed a beautiful city by the sea. Tall round columns, cobbled streets, towering buildings. All of them arranged in three circumscribed rings. The smallest and most spectacular surrounded a glowing orb that was set high above the city on some sort of spire.  
  
Dumbledore said nothing, merely watched the picture. Like a muggle movie, they watched time pass in the city. At first it was calm and easy. Just people going about their daily routine. But it gradually became more hurried. Stress and worry were evident on their faces. The worry became fear as many people were running through the streets. Someone was climbing that spire, towards the still glowing orb. They could see that it was a woman when the strong wind blew her hair out behind her. She had almost reached the orb.  
  
As she touched it, the picture seemed to ripple. The woman almost fell, but managed to hold onto the spire. She pulled off the orb. The picture shuddered, and terror was plain on the faces of the people below. With one arm wrapped around the spire, holding her in place, the woman cradled the orb in her hands and stared into it. Suddenly she thrust it towards the sky and held it there. Around her disaster ripped through the city. Buildings fell, people fled, the roads rose and fell as if they were waves on the sea. The tower below the spire was soon the only thing left standing. The orb glowed still, the same calm light as before.  
  
Then with a suddenness that was shocking, it shattered. The pieces showered over the woman and onto the ground below. She hung limply on the spire, cut and bleeding. And the twelve thought that she was dead. Then she moved. Slowly, painfully she made her way to the ground. After tending to her wounds she looked around her. There was no one left in the city. She was alone.  
  
More time passed. She slowly gathered the pieces of the orb from the rubble. There came a time when she didn't appear any more. The sea covered more and more of the picture, until all that was left was the center spire. Finally there was nothing but the deep blue of a calm sea.  
  
"What do you think?" Dumbledore asked softly.  
  
"That beautiful city. destroyed." Ginny said. Her blue eyes were filled with tears. Neville patted her shoulder. They were all silent.  
  
"Atlantis." Hermione said. "We just saw the fall of Atlantis. In that painting. How?"  
  
"That painting is a documentation of the events as they truly happened. An anonymous artist created it long ago. Yes it is the fall of Atlantis. That orb was the Sunstone of Atlantis and the source of the city's power. It was created so long before even this happened that it is beyond even imagined history."  
  
"The Shards." Harry said, "The Shards are the pieces of the Sunstone that the woman gathered from the ground. We're wearing them around our necks. Our kits are wearing them on collars." He sounded as stunned as everyone else looked. Except for Rose. She was smiling approvingly at him. "You knew. You knew what they were."  
  
"Yes I did," Rose said. "Now you do. All of you." She turned to Dumbledore.  
  
"So does Voldemort. That's what the snake was meant to tell us. Its sole purpose was to let us know that he knew we had them. That, and to make us think not even they would matter." Dumbledore told them. "But he was wrong. They do matter. I know they do simply because he took all that trouble to tell us they didn't. You twelve, along with another three who aren't here, are the Guardians of the Shards."  
  
"What does that mean exactly?" George asked.  
  
"That means that we are to protect them from evil. Namely, Voldemort," Rose said softly. "If he gets even one, he will then have knowledge of the others, and be able to obtain them."  
  
"And what does that mean?" Daniel asked. "He'd be able to find the others?"  
  
"The Shards want to be together. That is how so many of them are together now. They lead their holder or Guardian, to the others. If he got one it would lead him to the rest." Rose answered.  
  
"How do you know so much about them?" Hermione asked. "You didn't have yours until today."  
  
Rose lifted her chin. "That woman in the painting was my ancestor. The Legend of the Shards has been passed down through my family since the day the Sunstone shattered. Until four years ago, I thought it was just a family legend. The woman, Lianna, did not die. She went to Greece. There she married a warrior and had five daughters. She passed her knowledge down to them. After her youngest daughter's birth she made the mistake of telling her husband about the Shards. He tried to use them for power. But her daughters, witches all, hid them from him. The six women fled his wrath. They traveled the world as soothsayers and prophetesses for they were those as well. Because they were so often right in their predictions, other warrior kings took them in. They had to be constantly on guard and it grew tiresome. So, they hid the Shards separately, in many places. They all eventually married, but their magic always frightened their husbands away. Lianna's tale was passed down from daughter to daughter. There were never any sons." Everyone looked at Rose. Her eyes were a swirl of gold and gray. The silence in the room was heavy as everyone absorbed the tale.  
  
"What happened to make Atlantis sink?" Lynne asked, still staring at the painting. She reached out to touch the blue water.  
  
"Don't touch it!" Dumbledore said. Lynne snatched her hand back. He sighed. "I'm sorry Lynne. The painting has. unforeseen magical properties. In a moment it will begin again. It replays the events again and again. When it plays through again, I'd like you all to watch closely. Not Lianna, or the Sunstone, but the city itself. I want to know what you see."  
  
They all returned their attention to the painting, as its picture seemed to fade. The beautiful city was once again in place and perfect. This time, the student focused on the city. A very strange thing happened then. The angle of the picture changed. Now the main part of the picture was the streets of the city. The Sunstone was just something far above them. All the happy people that were going about their business in their beautiful, brightly colored clothes, in their lovely city. Ginny choked back a sob at the thought of their fate. A man in black stopped at the base of the spire that held the Sunstone. The woman they now knew as Lianna approached him. They spoke, but it was like a silent movie. The twelve only knew that she was very angry with the man. She sent him away.  
  
Dark fear spread throughout this city of light. Men and women wearing black were often trying to get to the Sunstone Spire. Lianna and a few other women were seen many times at the base of the spire, keeping the dark ones away. The first man was seen rarely and when he came, Lianna was always the one to turn him away. Soon, all light clothed people had fled. A crowd of dark ones approached the Spire, that same man in the lead. Lianna stood alone against them. She spoke and so did he. She turned away from him and disappeared into the tower below the Sunstone. A few moments later, she could be seen climbing the Spire.  
  
The new angle of the picture kept their attention on the people below. The man, in his black robes was clothed just a bit differently from the others. A bit finer, more ornate. As Lianna touched the Sunstone, the city rippled, as it had before. Many of the darkly clothed people fled as buildings toppled around them. The finely dressed man raised his arms up to the sky. As he did, his long sleeve fell back to reveal.  
  
"The Dark Mark!" Harry whispered, incredulous.  
  
"Yes Harry." Dumbledore said softly. "Watch." He looked beyond tired.  
  
Everyone else in the room was gaping at the painting. At the awful death's head with a serpent in its mouth that was tattooed on the man's arm. He was trying to perform some sort of wandless magic. They could just see Lianna at the top of the scene, the Sunstone in her arms. When she thrust it to the sky, the man with the Dark Mark jerked as if he'd been struck in the belly by a very large fist. But still he held his arms out towards the Stone. The city went still around them. Then the Sunstone shattered. Just before a deadly sharp piece could pierce his heart, he vanished. His people had long ago fled, or been crushed by the falling buildings.  
  
The scene continued as it had before. Lianna climbed down from the Spire and tended her wounds. There was a deep cut on the palm of her right hand. When she washed the blood away, all that could be seen was a thin silver scar. The scar sliced across her palm, from the base of her smallest finger to the ball of her thumb. Her other wounds healed at a normal rate, as she gathered the Shards together. She put them into a leather bag that she wore around her waist. When she had them all, she had to force the bag to close. The Sunstone wanted to shine on its city, even broken as it was. Then she left and the city sank beneath the sea.

Everyone turned to stare at Rose and Dumbledore. Rose was looking a bit pale and her eyes were completely gray. George reached out to touch her hand. She blinked and smiled weakly. "I'm sorry," she said, "It's just so different to see it like this. worse than I imagined as a child. Except for the Serpent. That man has terrified my dreams for my entire life."  
  
"How is it that that man wore the Dark Mark thousands of years before Tom Riddle was even a thought in someone's twisted mind?" Ana asked.  
  
"He took it from history." Dumbledore said. "Now I would like all of you to think long and hard about this. Do you accept the duty of Guardianship of the Shards?"  
  
There was silence as they all looked at one another, then back at Dumbledore. George spoke first. "We can't bloody well refuse now can we? What with having the dannikits and Shards and boxes and knowing all this."  
  
"It wouldn't be decent." Fred added.  
  
"No it wouldn't," Hermione said, "Of course I accept."  
  
Ron grinned, "I'm in."  
  
Neville nodded, "So am I."  
  
"Me too," Ginny said brightly.  
  
"Me three," Ana said smiling a bit.  
  
Reggie looked at Lynne, who nodded. "Lynne and I accept of course."  
  
Daniel looked at his little sisters and then at everyone else. "I can't let them go haring off to have adventures without me now can I?"  
  
They all looked at Harry. Harry looked at Rose. She smiled. "It's been my family's fate for thousands of years. I won't break from tradition."  
  
Now all their attention was on Harry. There was a definite tension in the air. If the Boy-Who-Lived refused this task, what could it mean for the rest of them? Finally Harry smiled. "I've never shirked a duty in my life, I'm not about to start now."  
  
They all gasped as the Shards around their necks grew searing hot. They yanked them from under their shirts, and had their eyes dazzled by a brilliant blue light that faded almost immediately. So quickly that, they weren't sure they saw anything at all. Except for the spots that were dancing before their eyes.  
  
When their vision cleared, they saw a smiling Dumbledore who didn't look nearly as tired now. His eyes even twinkled as he asked, "Shall we go to dinner now?"  
  
There was a moment of stunned silence. Then Ron's stomach growled and they all laughed. If it sounded a bit forced, no one commented on it. Ron flushed and mumbled something about not eating much at lunch. As they made their way from the room, Harry looked back at the painting. Atlantis was once again above the waves, in all its splendor.  
  
"It 's so beautiful it makes me want to cry sometimes," Rose said softly. "They didn't all die you know. The Good Atlanteans fled to other islands long before that final struggle between Lianna and the Serpent."  
  
Harry glanced at her. "Somehow, I knew that." He shook his head. "Which is assuredly odd since I've never known anything about Atlantis before."  
  
She just smiled and said, "Let's go. The others will miss us." Harry was very happy to see the gold back in her eyes before they left the room.  
  
Dinner was decidedly boring. All they wanted to do was get somewhere quiet and think about what they had committed themselves to. Instead they had to endure an hour of rather pointless and nonsensical chatter from their fellow students. Admittedly, an hour and half before, they would have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. After seeing the fall of Atlantis in the painting school gossip seemed well, pointless. At least it did until Seamus said, "That strange girl came in just before you lot, looked around, nodded at the Gryffindor table and walked out again. She was quite pretty in an exotic and distracted sort of way."  
  
Harry blinked at Seamus. "Rhia was here and didn't stay?"  
  
"Is that her name? It fits. It was quite interesting because Malfoy followed after her. He's back now though, and she's not."  
  
Harry looked over at the Slytherin table. There was Malfoy. He wasn't sneering as he usually did. In fact he looked a bit confused, and just a tad angry. Harry grinned wickedly. "Serves him right the li" he stopped because he hurt. It was the strangest sensation. There was a zinging pain in the very middle of his chest. He looked down There was a glimmer of blue light shining through his shirt. He hurriedly pulled his robes closed and looked at the others. They were all twelve seated at the Gryffindor table this evening. And they all look as astonished as he felt. He excused himself from Seamus, who looked at him oddly, and left the hall. The others were quick to follow.  
  
Their kits were all quietly snoozing in their boxes, as they had been since before they watched the painting.  
  
As they all crowded into an empty classroom, Rose exclaimed, "Blessed hell Harry. What did you do?"  
  
"I didn't DO anything. I was just talking to Seamus about Rhia and," he paused. "No. I have to be wrong. Not him."  
  
"What on earth are you talking about Harry?" Neville asked. "Or rather who?"  
  
Harry ran a hand through his terminally messy hair. "Seamus said Rhia came into the Hall earlier, looked around and left again. Malfoy followed her. He came back, she didn't."  
  
"The bounder," Ron said. Then hissed through his teeth with the rest of them as they were once again zinged.  
  
Rose stared at Harry and Ron. "Well blessed hell again. That arrogant fool has a Shard."  
  
They gaped at her. She sighed. "I have to find my sister. You all go on to bed. I'll see you all in the Hall before breakfast."  
  
"I'm coming with you." Harry said.  
  
She looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "No. I'll find her easier on my own. Goodnight." And with that she disappeared down the hall.  
  
"How in the name of Merlin are we supposed to sleep now?" Ron asked. "Knowing that that sleazy"  
  
"Ow! Ron, would you please hold your tongue?" Hermione snapped, "I'm not sure my chest can handle much more of it."  
  
A second later, they were all laughing. Except of course for Ron and Hermione. They were both blushing furiously. Even Reggie and Lynne were giggling, though they were almost as red as Hermione.  
  
Fred and George grinned maniacally.  
  
"So is it Ron's. whatever," George asked philosophically.  
  
"Or Hermione's. whatever?" Fred finished. Hermione gasped. The twins turned to look over the two in question appraisingly.  
  
"Well we can't fault her. She's far too pretty." Fred said. He winked at Hermione.  
  
George sighed mournfully. "It must be our brother then. After all the lessons we gave him." They shook their heads sadly.  
  
Ron glared at his brothers. "Shove off the both of you." Still flushing a deep red, he pulled Hermione back into the Hall.  
  
Harry heard her ask, "Lessons?" as they disappeared into the crowd and burst out laughing again. When the others looked at him questioningly as he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes, he refused to explain.  
  
A few minutes later, when they had calmed down and were just about to return to the Hall for dessert, a cold voice asked, "What do you all think you are doing in here at this time of night?"  
  
It was Snape and he looked angry enough to spit.  
  
"It's not even eight o'clock yet Professor." Daniel said.  
  
Ana elbowed him in the side. "We were just about to go back to the Great Hall for dessert."  
  
"What were you doing in an empty classroom during dinner?" He sneered.  
  
"They were doing something for me Professor," said a voice behind the Potions Master.  
  
"Malfoy, what? They were doing something. for you?"  
  
"Yes Professor."  
  
Snape looked decidedly discomfited. He looked back at the others. The Weasley twins at least managed to look convincing. Snape said nothing more and left the room in a swirl of robes.  
  
"Why did you do that Malfoy?" Harry asked. He was genuinely confused and very glad Ron was gone already.  
  
"Because I followed you. and it needed to be done." He smiled icily. "Besides, now you owe me Potter. I won't forget it." He turned on his heel and left.  
  
After a moment, Reggie asked, "Anybody else get the feeling that that last parting shot of his was just for show?"  
  
Everyone but Harry nodded slowly. He was still staring at the door. "Why would he help us? And what is so bloody interesting about us that makes him follow us like that? It's disconcerting."  
  
"The Shards," Ginny said. They all looked at her. "The Shards are trying to find each other. His led him to ours. But he doesn't know that. Yet. I'll bet he doesn't even know himself why he's following us."  
  
"This situation is getting more complicated by the minute." George said.  
  
"Let's grab some dessert and head to bed. I don't know about you all, but my brain could use a break." Daniel said. "There's no telling what's going to pop up for us tomorrow."


	6. Tools of Fate

Later, Harry met Ron and Hermione in the Common room. He told them what had happened with Malfoy and what Reggie and Ginny had said. Hermione stared into the fire for a moment. "They might be right. However, I think a good nights sleep is in order before we declare Malfoy a Good Guy." She waved a thoughtful hand at the two of them and climbed the stairs.  
  
Ron looked at Harry and said, "She's right you know." He smiled. "She usually is."  
  
Harry nodded and followed him to their dormitory. Neville was already fast asleep in his bed, Andra on his pillow. Dean and Seamus were still down in the Common Room, along with most of the other Gryffindors. Harry looked at his own bed. There was Shadow, just sitting there and waiting for him. He smiled as he heard Kali'na whirr inside her box. He opened the door and she leaped out onto his bed. She trilled at Shadow, who just purred loudly.  
  
Harry looked at Ron. He was already in his pajamas and climbing into bed. "How'd you do that so fast?" Harry asked.  
  
Ron looked at him oddly. "I moved. You've been standing there staring at those two for nearly ten minutes." Fianna and Starlight were both lying at the foot of his bed, a black and red ball of fur.  
  
Harry shook himself, quickly changed and blew out the candle. As soon as he was under the covers, Kali'na was beside his head, whirring softly. Shadow stepped delicately onto his chest and lay down, purring all the while. "Hope I'm not smothered in my sleep," he muttered. All he got in answer was a light snore from Ron and louder purring from Shadow. He smiled in the darkness. "I think you were supposed to be at the box finishing," he told the cat. "You weren't though, and Rose didn't seem to notice. So I suppose it's alright that you are here," he yawned, "with me." Shadow's only response was more purring and Harry slept.  
  
And dreamed.  
  
[I] Atlantis. He was looking at the city. No. He was in the city, watching the Sunstone Spire. That was odd. It was at a different angle than it had been during either of the two times he'd seen it. There was Lianna and a few of the other women from the Spire. The Daughters of the Sun. Now how did he know what they were called? He'd think about that when he woke up. There was the Serpent coming towards them.  
  
"Ah the lovely Daughters of the Sun. Do you never rest?" he asked, his voice hinting of dark and wicked things that are best done at night when there is no moon.  
  
"Not when there is such as you about Snake Charmer. Perhaps you would have better luck with your serpents." Lianna said, her eyes a steely gray.  
  
"Just because you are cold and unfeeling doesn't mean your women are." He turned and Harry knew he smiled at the other women. None of them smiled back "Or perhaps it does." He laughed cruelly and turned on his heel. As the Serpent passed, Harry's scar started to burn. He gasped, saw the man's fiery red eyes as they looked straight at him and screamed as the pain in his scar flared excruciatingly. [/I]  
  
Harry woke up drenched in sweat, his heart pounding wildly and his scar burning like fire. Apparently he hadn't really screamed, because it was still dark and everyone else was still asleep. But his throat felt raw, as if he had. Kali'na was sitting on his pillow, staring at him. She made no sound, merely stretched out a paw toward his scar. When she touched it, the pain lessened considerably. He smiled thankfully at her green eyes. After a long moment, he heard Shadow purr from somewhere in the depths of the darkness around his bed. He drifted once again toward sleep.  
  
Just before he floated into the fog of a blessedly dreamless sleep, he thought he heard voices whisper, "After four years I'm still not used to it. That hurt like the very devil Star. Though it has definitely been worse."  
  
"I remember. Well he's sleeping now, and the kit is helping isn't she?"  
  
"Yes, but"  
  
"Use the respite and get some sleep yourself. You have a lot to do in the morning."  
  
Then there was nothing but purring and Harry heard no more.  
  
The next morning, Harry woke up with only a dull ache behind his scar. He pushed aside the velvet drapes of his bed, put on his glasses and looked at his watch. He sighed heavily. There was still two hours before breakfast and he was now wide-awake. He patted a drowsy Kali'na on the head and grabbing his robe, made his way to the bathroom.  
  
It really was a nice bathroom. Not as nice as the Prefects' perhaps, but nice enough for five young boys to share. At least he didn't have to clean it. And Dudley wasn't one of the boys he shared it with. Harry shook the thought of the Dursleys from his head and stepped into the blissfully hot shower.  
  
Thirty minutes later, he stepped back into the room, wearing his robe and toweling off his hair. The other boys were still sleeping. Ron was in fact snoring, one hand hanging off the side of the bed, the other over his eyes. As Harry passed, he saw Starlight curled at Ron's feet. He leaned over and patted her with his free hand.  
  
The black cat opened her eyes and blinked at him. A drop of water fell from his hair to her paw. Her golden eyes suddenly went quite large and round. She yowled a yowl worthy of Crookshanks and seemed to fly to Harry's bed. He watched, stunned, as she swatted Shadow for apparently being where she wanted to land and streaked out the door. Shadow came up hissing and spitting. As he stared, she suddenly went perfectly still, turned around and saw him. Then she streaked after Starlight.  
  
"What odd cats." Harry muttered, chuckling. As he started to get dressed, he happened to look at Kali'na. She was writhing on his pillow, a wild and loud whirring coming from her. As he buttoned his shirt, he petted her. She just kept writhing under his hand, the whirring like a happy hum under his fingers. He pulled out his Dannikit handbook and read a bit. He discovered that what she was still doing was the equivalent of dannikit laughter. Apparently, She thought that Shadow and Starlight were funny too.  
  
Harry looked at his watch. It was now only an hour before breakfast. He picked up his wet towel and threw it at Ron. "Oi Ron! Wake up mate!"  
  
Ron sat up with a jerk. His red hair was sticking out from his head at odd angles. It looked nearly as messy as Harry's normally did. He was looking around wildly. When he finally realized that something damp and heavy wasn't really attacking him, he threw his pillow at a laughing Harry and yelled, "Blast it all Harry!" Still grumbling to himself and glaring at his friend, he stumbled into the bathroom. The others soon followed in turn. Harry scooped up Kali'na and put her on his shoulder. Carrying her box as well as his bookbag, he went down to the common room. Rose was there, asleep in an armchair. Vestan was curled on her lap. Fred and George were talking to someone in the chair across from her. He couldn't see who it was. "Morning all." Harry said.  
  
"Morning Harry," George called, grinning.  
  
"Guess what?" Fred asked.  
  
Harry, noticing the sparkle of mischief in his eye, was wary. "What?"  
  
"Rhia was sorted into Gryffindor last night." George answered.  
  
Harry blinked in surprise at the wave of relief that swept through him. He hadn't known how afraid he'd been that she'd go to Slytherin. His headache faded completely. "That's interesting," he replied.  
  
"I'm so glad you all find me interesting," said the voice in the chair. Harry stepped around to see Rhia sitting there. Her legs were tucked beneath her obviously new robes. The scarlet and gold tie around her neck looked quite good with her red-gold curls. There was a twinkle in her gray eyes and a smile playing about her mouth. "Do I pass muster?" she asked with amusement rippling in her voice.  
  
Harry flushed. He'd been staring. The twins grinned. "You'll do." Harry managed to say.  
  
"Why thank you Harry." She looked up at Kali'na. "Hello Kali'na. Are you taking good care of Harry?" Before Harry could ask how she knew the name of his kit, Kali'na jumped from his shoulder to Rhia's lap. Petting the whirring kit, Rhia said, "I suppose that means yes."  
  
"What's going on?" Rose asked from her chair.  
  
"I am making the acquaintance of Harry's dannikit Sis. Sleep well?" Rhia smiled across the hearth at her.  
  
" Passably. What time is it?" Rose asked.  
  
"Ten minutes before the stampede." Ron said, coming into the room. He pulled up short at the sight of Rhia. "Welcome to Gryffindor," he said finally.  
  
"Thank you Ron. What stampede?"  
  
As students started crowding into the common room and out the door, Ron sighed. "That one."  
  
Hermione slipped through the crush to join them all in front of the fire. She stared at Rhia for a moment. "So you're a Gryffindor," she said. "Where did you sleep last night? Not in the fifth year girls dorm I would have noticed a sixth bed in there."  
  
"She was with me," Rose answered. "There's no more room in your dorm."  
  
Hermione looked at the sisters. "Both of you. in a former supply closet?" Harry was thinking the same thing.  
  
"This is Hogwarts 'Mione," Ron said. "No telling how big it really is."  
  
"A supply closet." Fred said. The twins looked at Rose with odd expressions on their faces. She burst out laughing as they started pulling failed jokes out of their pockets.  
  
After an uneventful breakfast, the fifth year Gryffindors, including Rhia, and Rose made their way to Hagrid's hut for their Care of Magical creatures class. The fifth year Slytherins came as well, though what they were going to do without kits was a mystery. Rhia walked between Rose and Harry. She had returned Kali'na to him on the way to the Great Hall. The black kit was on his head, whirring contentedly.  
  
"Mornin' Students," Hagrid exclaimed. "If you'll come over to the side o' the house, we'll start the lesson."  
  
They gathered on the side of Hagrid's hut, Gryffindors in one huddle with their kits and Slytherins in a separate huddle. Harry and Rhia were standing sort of in the middle of the two. He couldn't bring himself to leave her there, next to the Slytherins. Malfoy opened his mouth to say something. There was a hint of a sneer on his face. Rhia cleared her throat. He glanced over, blinked, scowled and shut his mouth again.  
  
Harry looked at Rhia. He didn't dare say anything. There was no telling what the Shards would do if he said what he was thinking. Rhia smiled at him and then turned her attention once again to Hagrid. The friendly giant was telling them a bit more about Atanis. The beautiful Agoradan was sitting in the paddock, but everyone knew that it was by choice and not design. Finally Hagrid asked the class if they would like to pet her. She had met them the previous lesson, but that had been serious. This didn't have to be. Rhia's hand shot up with Harry, Ron and Hermione not far behind.  
  
"Och Rhia Jameson. Climb on through the fence then. Hold your hand out so she can smell it and"  
  
It was too late. Rhia was already inside the paddock and tickling the Agoradan under her chin. Atanis was very nearly taller than the girl petting her was. "We've already met Hagrid." Rhia said, smiling around the Agoradan at the open mouthed Groundskeeper. A low rumble of thunder came from deep in Atanis' chest. Rhia laughed.  
  
"Rhia." Rose started. "Perhaps you should give someone else a chance?"  
  
Smiling, and with one last pat, Rhia climbed back through the fence. "Your turn Harry." Hagrid managed to say. Harry glanced at Rhia then at the Agoradan. Making sure Kali'na was secure on his head, he climbed the fence. Kali'na started whirring. It was a rather pretty accompaniment to the low rumble of her mother. Atanis gave her daughter a swipe with her tongue before focusing her attention on Harry. He held out his hand, like Hagrid had said, but she ignored it. Instead she focused those big gray eyes on his and stared.  
  
[I] He was in Atlantis again. Lianna was speaking. to him.  
  
"You must leave. You must document the events of the last days."  
  
"I won't leave you" he heard himself say.  
  
"You must! We will meet again.when lightning strikes twice." [/I]  
  
"Are you going to pet her Potter, or just stand there all day?" A sneering voice said, bringing Harry back to the paddock. He blinked at the still rumbling Atanis, and her mesmerizing eyes.

He heard Rhia say, "Leave be Draco." He also heard Ron struggling. He scratched the Agoradan behind her left ear and turned back to the class. Ron was red in the face, and Hermione had a firm grip on his arm.

Harry climbed the fence quickly and joined Hermione in her attempts to control Ron. "Later Ron," He whispered fiercely. "Later. You wouldn't believe what just happened."

Ron took a deep breath and Fianna poked her head from his pocket and meowed. Slowly, the red faded from his face, but his blue eyes were still flashing. "What happened besides that… Malfoy's remark." He managed to keep his mouth under control, and avoid a Shard mishap.

"I saw something…" Harry started. "But I will tell you after class."

"What's happening after class?" Rhia asked, joining them. The rest of the students had returned to their observations as one by one, they were allowed to pet Atanis.

"We're going to have a talk," Harry said. Then he frowned. He hadn't meant to tell her that.

"Oh good. I've wanted to talk to you all too. Perhaps on our way to my sister's class?" Rhia said, smiling. She glanced over at Draco. The Slytherin was staring at her, an expression of reluctant admiration on his face. "That boy could use some manners," she muttered under her breath.

"Yes. You're coming to Rose's class?" Hermione asked.

"Of course," Rhia said. "It's my family history after all."

"Then you know," Harry said.

"Yes Harry. I know." She looked at him directly then. "More than most, I suspect." Then she turned and walked over to Rose.

"What do you suppose she meant by that?" Ron asked.

"I don't know Ron. I hope we find out soon." Harry answered.

The class continued on. Ron and Hermione petted Atanis. Nothing unusual happened. At least nothing that Harry could tell. When Draco approached the paddock, Atanis stopped rumbling and stared at him, her lip curled to show a long fang. He stared back. He held out his hand and said something that no one else could hear. The lip uncurled and she allowed herself to be patted by him. When he turned to smile triumphantly at the rest of the class, she hit his back with a large paw, knocking him flat on his face.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were about to laugh when their shards zinged them. They managed, just barely, to hold in their laughter as Draco sat up and spat a clod of dirt out of his mouth. Harry's laughter died as Rhia, rather than a Slytherin, climbed into the paddock to help Draco. She didn't help him up however. She said something to him, then went to Atanis and started whispering to her. Draco picked himself up and, saying nothing, climbed out of the paddock. He was joined Crabbe and Goyle at the edge of the crowd. He shook off their 'helping' hands and frowned in the direction of the castle.

Twenty minutes later, Hagrid brought the class to a close and dismissed the students. Harry did not get a chance to talk to the others. They never got a moment without other Gryffindors around. They all made their way to their Charms class and once again tried to use the bathing charm on their dannikits. It worked better this time because the kits were fully bonded. The trio and Neville's kits were the best behaved of the bunch once again. They submitted readily to the charm. Vestan submitted as well. He even whirred loudly as the bubbles faded away. Rhia just watched, a smile on her face at the dannikit antics.

Finally it was time for luncheon. They joined the other Guardians at the Ravenclaw table. "So, how was Atanis this morning?" Ana asked.

"She was beautiful. And she still doesn't like Malfoy," Hermione said.

"Smart animal," Ron commented they all winced as their shards zinged them once again.

"What was that?" Rhia asked. They all looked at her. "Oh it's those." She looked at Rose, who nodded as she rubbed the place on her chest that the Shard zapped.

"I really wish you would control your comments Ron," Ginny remarked.

"Sorry everybody," Ron apologized.

"As soon as we get to our classroom, we're going to talk," Rose said. "All of us." She looked directly at Harry.

They ate quickly and left the hall. As they were climbing the stairs up to the third floor, Rhia stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I'll meet you all there," she said. Without another word, she turned and went back down.

"Come on, let's go." Rose said. Harry looked after Rhia until she disappeared around a corner.

They continued up to the third floor classroom and one by one stepped through the window. There were several wooden crates in the middle of the circle this time. The chairs had names on them this time. The chairs went like this: R. Jameson, L. Emmortal, R. Emmortal, Tasner, D. Emmortal, F. Weasley, G. Weasley, R. Weasley, Granger, G. Weasley, Longbottom, Potter, R. Jameson, Malfoy, and Reed.

"What's in those crates?" Lynne asked.

"We'll open them up as soon as Rhia gets back," Rose answered. "Everyone take your seats." They did as she asked. There was some confusion between George and Ginny, but they figured out that the twins would remain next to each other.

"What's with the new seating arrangement?" Daniel asked as he sat beside Fred.

"And who is this Reed person?" Neville asked.

"Malfoy has a seat." Ron said, his voice flat.

"Yes. He has a Shard Ron," Rose replied. "I expected as much. Reed must be the last Guardian. I'll explain the new seating when everyone is here." They waited.

Malfoy sauntered into the room. His habitual cold sneer was much in evidence. He said nothing, and

Hermione had Ron's arm in a death grip to keep his mouth under control.

Rose swallowed and said, "Thank you for coming Draco."

"I had no choice. I got a schedule change this morning," he said.

"Take your seat then," Rose said. Harry devoutly hoped that Malfoy would not notice the flare of green in her eyes as she said, "You're one chair away from Harry."

Malfoy looked at Harry, raised a blonde eyebrow and asked, "Who's Reed?"

"We don't know yet," Harry answered, careful to keep his voice neutral.

There was shriek at the door as a girl stumbled in. They all turned to stare at her. She stood there, slightly bent over, breathing heavily. "That's worse than the barrier at the train station," she said. Then she looked up. All male mouths fell open and all female eyes narrowed. She had thick black hair that cascaded in waves to her hips, pale skin and violet eyes. "Hello. I'm Monica Reed. I just got here this morning and was told to come here. The note said to climb through that window. It was quite nerve wracking to step out into what looks like nothing but sky. Do we have to do that every day? What I mean is, is that the only way into the classroom? If it is then I suppose that it's okay. Oh goodness, am I in the right place? This is a mixed class. I didn't think that happened here. Of course with the scrambling about that was going on in the Great Hall I suppose it was bound to. I'm a Ravenclaw apparently. Just moved here from the California School of Sorcery. We don't have houses there." She paused for breath. "Just Quidditch teams. I'm talking too much aren't I? Emma has always thought I did. That's my cat. She's not here yet. At least I don't think so. I can see by your faces that I'm doing it again. Sorry." And with that, her mouth snapped shut and stunned silence fell in the classroom.

"Welcome to my class Monica. I believe your seat is right here between Draco and myself." Rose said finally. "This is not a normal classroom, nor a normal class, but I'll get to that. There aren't any other mixed classes at this point in time. Though you may have double lessons with some of the other houses."

Monica walked quickly to the seat with her name on it and sat down. Malfoy looked like he'd just been given the most amazing gift imaginable. Until Monica looked around him to Harry. "You're Harry Potter aren't you? I've heard of you at the Academy. Congratulations on the Triwizard Championship last year."

"Erm… thank you." Harry muttered. Malfoy was giving him a particularly evil glare. "OW!" Harry yelled suddenly. So did everyone else in the room, including Malfoy and Monica.

"Ron!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Wasn't me," Ron said.

"Then who…?" Hermione started. They all returned their attention to Malfoy, who was looking particularly pale at the moment. Monica looked slightly stunned. She was rubbing her chest, as were most everyone else in the room.

"Where is it Draco?" Ron asked.

"I don't know what you are talking about Weasel," Malfoy snapped.

"Blessed hell!" Rhia exclaimed from the doorway as they were zinged again. "Your Shard Malfoy. We've all got one now."

"What are you saying?" Malfoy asked.

Rhia stalked into the room, her left hand fisted around something on her chest. "I'm saying, Slytherin, that every time you insult or plan something evil towards another Guardian, we all feel the pain. So I suggest that you abort what ever evil plot you have against Harry right now or so help me…" A much milder zing swept the room.

"Excuse me…" Monica interrupted. "Guardian of what? These?" She pulled a necklace from inside her blouse. A deep purple stone was hanging from it. "It's been zapping me since last night. I've had it for years and it's never done that before."

They all pulled out their Shards, except Malfoy. He didn't move. "We are all Guardians. All fifteen of us. Guardians of the Shards."

"Why do they need Guardians? They're just rocks." Malfoy sneered.

"You Idiot!" Rhia yelled. They all gasped as their glowing Shards zapped them yet again. Rhia's piercing gray eyes focused on Malfoy. "Do you know of any ordinary rocks that do that Malfoy? You couldn't be that stupid."

Harry put a hand on Rhia's right arm. She jumped, startled and looked at him. "Calm down Rhiannon," he said firmly. After holding her gaze for a moment, he looked at Malfoy. "Draco. We know that you have a Shard and I am relatively sure that you know what it is and how important it could be." Malfoy's chin rose and he was stiff for a moment before he slowly reached up and pulled out a cord. An ice blue Shard hung from it.

Monica cleared her throat. "He might, but I don't." Her smooth white brow was furrowed in confusion. "I gather that these Shards are special, since they need Guardians. But I'm still a little fuzzy on the subject. Up until last night it was just a pretty necklace my mother left me. Worth nothing but its sentimental value."

"I'll explain a bit later," Rose said. She looked at Malfoy. "Where did you get yours?"

"I bought it." That was it. He wasn't being very forthcoming.

"And you Rhia?" Harry asked. "You didn't have one earlier." He still had his calming hand on her arm. She was still looking at him, but now her expression was inscrutable.

She said finally, "That' is what I went back to get just moments ago. Sta…" She stopped. "Moira had it for me." She relaxed her fisted left hand and revealed the Shard around her neck.

"Why did she have it?" Reggie asked. "She's one of your sisters right?"

"Yes she is. She got it from our mother." Rhia answered.

"Moira has been to see Mother? That must have been interesting," Rose said. She cleared her throat.

"All right people, Let's get cracking." She snapped her fingers and a small flame lit her fingertips.

"Oh blessed hell. I didn't want to do that." She blew it out. "So the seat arrangements…" She looked around. Monica and Draco were both staring at her hand, mouths hanging open. Rose sighed. "It'll be explained in a moment."

Rose smiled at them all and began. "The Shards bring out the gifts of their Guardians. My gift happens to deal with fire. We already knew that, but apparently the Shards made it more sensitive. Hence the finger pyrotechnics. In the crates are tools to help us hone our talents. We'll open them in bit. After I go through everyone's talents.

"Reggie, Lynne, Ana and I are elementals; Air, Water, Earth and Fire. We'll of course explore them more extensively to determine the extent of our abilities.

"Daniel, Fred, George and Ron will soon be Weapons masters; Long knives, Fighting staff, Long bow, and Club. Your weapons are in the crates. They will stay in this room, until you are proficient enough not to inadvertently hurt yourselves or another student. We will start training this weekend for all of us.

"Hermione, you have the gift of knowledge. There is a Book of Answers in the crate for you. Only you will be able to read it. However, you will have to train that fine brain of yours to read it. Right now it would probably just be gibberish.

"Ginny, you have a gift with animals. I'm not really very sure how far that will go. That's a new one in my experience. We'll have to see.

"Neville, your gift is obviously growing things. I believe you will soon be able to grow a sunflower at midnight if such a need ever arises.

"Harry… Your gift is close to the elementals, but more specialized toward lightning or perhaps storms. That's another thing we will have to explore.

"Rhia, Draco and Monica, your gifts, like Harry's are specialized. Monica, I was given information by your teachers that you have a gift with healing. Is this true?" Monica nodded. "Draco… You're our Potions master and shall probably be working closely with Monica." Rose stopped and looked around.

Everyone looked a trifle stunned. Ron cleared his throat. "What about Rhia?" he asked.

They all looked at Rhia. She was sitting in her chair, her left hand fisted once again, but this time in her lap. She was frowning down at that fist. Rose smiled, "Perhaps you had better explain that Sister dear."

"I'd really rather not." Rhia said softly.

"Why?" Harry asked. "It can't be that horrible. It's a talent." He touched her fisted hand and was surprised when she jolted out of her chair.

"Later okay?" She said. He frowned in concern at her pleading tone. "We should talk about what you saw in Atanis' eyes first."

"All right, I'm sorry," Harry said. "I didn't mean to push you. How did you know I saw anything in her eyes?"

"You went rigid and when Draco spoke, you blinked like someone coming out of a trance," Rhia said. "I would have thought it was obvious." She sat back down.

"Oh," Harry said. Everyone was staring at him now. "She's right. I did see something. But I should probably mention my dream first." Malfoy frowned, and it looked like he was about to say something, but he didn't.

"You dreamed, and saw something in the eyes of an Agoradan," Rose said. "What was it?"

"I dreamed of Atlantis. I was there. I saw Lianna and the other Daughters of the Sun at the base of the Spire." Harry began.

"How did you know what they were called? I didn't tell you." Rose said, sounding startled.

"I don't know. The Serpent called them that. It seemed like he wanted Lianna, and she had refused him. He called her cold and unfeeling, and tried for the other women, but got no response from them. Lianna called him the Snake Charmer and he turned and left. When he did, he looked straight at me. He had red eyes. Exactly like Voldemort. My scar burned then and woke me up. It does that whenever he is feeling particularly murderous. Perhaps they are related." Harry finished.

"You just said…" Monica whispered in an awed and frightened tone, " and you didn't even flinch."

"I never learned not to." Harry said. " Besides," his tone turned angry, "I've faced and beaten him too many times to fear his name."

She blinked. "All that other stuff you said, about the Daughters of the Sun and the Serpent, what was that?"

"My family history," Rose explained. "Mine and Rhia's. Lianna was our ancestress. The Daughters of the Sun were the women who guarded the Sunstone of Atlantis. The Shards are pieces of it. The Serpent tried to get that Stone and Lianna saved it by breaking it. But by protecting the power of the Sunstone, she consigned Atlantis to the bottom of the sea."

Rhia nodded then looked back at Harry. "You're right Harry. The Serpent wanted Lianna, but her heart was already given to someone else." Her hands were fisted in her lap again.

"I know. That's what I saw when I looked at Atanis. I was back in Atlantis and it seemed as though Lianna was speaking to me. She said, ' You must leave. You must document the events of the last few days.' Then I, or whoever I was, refused to leave without her. Then she said, 'You must. We will meet again, when lightning strikes twice.' What do you supposed that means?"

Everyone looked at everyone else. Rose cleared her throat. "I'm not sure Harry, but I know we will figure it out. Now, shall we get into these crates? We don't have time to experiment with the contents much before our next class, but we can take a quick look."

"First, I want to know Rhia's talent." Draco said. "If I'm going to sit beside someone for the rest of the year, I'd like to know what she can do."

Everyone looked at Rhia. She swallowed hard. Harry put his hand on her fists again. This time her whole body jolted, but she stayed seated. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Why don't you want to share you gift?"

"You'll see," she replied. She looked at him, her gray eyes wide on his. She seemed to be looking for something. She nodded as she found whatever it was in his gaze. She wasn't smiling as she stood and moved to the center of the circle. They all focused their attention on her.

Nothing happened for a moment. Then, quite suddenly, there was a flash of light and a gray timber wolf stood in the center of the circle, instead of Rhia. There was a long moment of silence.

"So she's an Animagus. What's the big deal?" Draco asked. His tone was derogatory, but his eyes were a bit wider then usual.

The wolf looked at him and seemed to smile, showing fangs. There was another flash and she was no longer a wolf. Instead, she was a magnificent gray hippogriff. The Rhia-hippogriff fluffed its feathers and looked fiercely at Draco. Then a third flash and she was a large gray dog, looking at Hermione, head bent to the side. The Rhia-dog turned to Harry, still with her head bent and was suddenly a deer with gray-brown fur. Harry's eyes went wide. Then she was a gray Agoradan, a million different shades blending together in her coat. And finally she was Rhia again. There was stunned silence in the room.

"How?" Harry asked, staring at her. "I didn't know that was possible. A multiple Animagi isn't possible. Is it?"

"It isn't. What I do is something else. It has to do with who I am and what I'm supposed to do," Rhia answered.

"What's that?" Fred asked.

"Be a Guardian." Rhia said. She sat down in her seat again. Draco looked just a bit nervous. She sighed. "I'm not going to bite you."

"I- I know that. I just… Can you be other creatures?" he asked timidly.

"If I want." Rhia murmured.

"You plucked the images out of our minds." Hermione said, suddenly.

"What?" Ron exclaimed.

"That's impossible," Ana said. "Isn't it?"

"She just turned into five different animals in succession and you think the idea of her seeing the images in our minds is the impossible part?" Dan asked, grinning at her. She blushed.

"Up until four and a half years ago, I would have said magic was impossible. So I think I've got a pretty open mind," Monica said. "Did you see the images in our minds Rhia?"

"Not really… I saw them in your hearts."

There was a puzzled silence. Reggie spoke up, "I think I speak for everyone when I say, Huh?"

There was a bit of nervous laughter. Rhia looked at all of them. "I could see what you were thinking of, what you were yearning towards. The hippogriff was from Ron, the dog from Hermione, the deer from Harry, and the Agoradan from Monica. You all really wanted to see one right then. So I became it for you. Though I really saw a stag in Harry. I'm a girl so that actually was impossible." She smiled wryly.

"That's amazing," George said. "Really amazing. Why didn't you want to tell us?"

She looked at Draco. He still looked nervous. "Oh for the love of… She's not going to attack you Draco. Stop being such a " Harry stopped.

"So you're perfectly okay with the fact that she could be anything, she can see into your very heart Potter?" Draco exclaimed. "She shows up one day, out of the blue, and the very next day you find out what she can do. Which happens to be anything she wants, and you're fine with it." He looked a little panicked.

"Yes I am Draco. Because I'm capable of trust." Harry said firmly.

"And we saw what happened because of that last year didn't we?" Draco snapped. They all screamed as their Shards zapped them, HARD.

"THAT"S ENOUGH!" Rhia yelled. Tears were streaming down her face. Everyone else was panting for breath and gripping their Shards with white-knuckled hands.

"Yes," Rose said. "That is most certainly enough. We are going to drop the subject this instant. Draco, if you can't control that tongue of yours, I'll report you to the Headmaster. It wouldn't matter that you are a Guardian. Now, we are going to open these crates and we are going to enjoy examining the contents. That's an order."

"Who made you boss?" George asked, grinning.

Rose raised an eyebrow at him. "This did." She held up her right hand. There was a thin white line from the base of her smallest finger to the ball of her thumb.

"What the devil is that?" Ginny asked.

"Birthmark. In my family, there are always five daughters. One of the daughters is born with this scar, and that one will have five daughters as well. It meant that she, or in this case me, will deal directly with the Shards." Rose answered. "Let's get into the crates now shall we?"

The dannikits were draped or curled in various positions of repose on or around the crates. They seemed largely unconcerned with the antics of their human companions. When the larger Shards of the students zapped them, the Shards worn by the kits merely glowed. Kali'na was looking at Draco from her place on the tallest crate with unblinking green eyes. As Rose stood to open the first of the three crates he glanced up at her. She jumped down onto his head. Draco and Harry both froze in shock. Kali'na stood there for a moment and the very tips of her tiny claws were visible for a second before she leapt onto Harry's head. The black kit yawned and lay down on her perch, front paws crossed over his scar.

"Why'd she do that? Monica asked. She was looking past Draco at the now snoozing kit with awe.

"She's trying to make them friends," Ginny said suddenly. Everyone looked at her. "It's true. That's what they are trying to do. We all have to be friends if this is going to work."

"She's right," Rose said. "Now would someone give me a hand with this crate? It's being difficult." She was trying to pry the lid off with a the lever side of a hammer. And all it was doing was splintering the wood.

Rhia stood up and walked to the crate. She stood beside her sister for a moment, looking at it. "The hammer isn't going to work," she said finally.

"Why not?" Fred asked

"Because the boxes contain materials that can only be used by Guardians?" Draco suggested, still eyeing Kali'na.

"Therefore, only Shards can open them," Monica said.

Rhia smiled. "Right."

"How'd you know that?" Daniel asked.

"It's simple logic," Hermione said.

"But how do the Shards open them?" Rose asked. At their questioning looks she said, "Hey this is the first time all fifteen Guardians have been together for more than a thousand years. This is new territory for me as well as you all."

"Then this should be fun," Neville said nervously. "Our leader doesn't even know what we're doing."

"Oh Neville, don't worry," Rose said, smiling at him. "I promise not to blow us up." She looked at her hand, remembering the finger snap flames and added, "At least, not intentionally."

"That's not funny," Ron said.

"Yes it is," George said grinning fiendishly. " In a twisted Weasley twin kind of way."

"She's been hanging out with you two for too long." Ginny said.

By now, everyone was examining the crates, looking for some kind of lock to place the shards in or

button to push. But they all three looked like normal wooden crates.

"I've only been around them for four days," Rose said. She ran her hand over the top of the crate, displacing Erian and Vestan with the sweep of her hand.

"She's had the same sense of humor for her whole life," Rhia said. She put her left hand in one particular spot on the top of the crate and left it there. Her right hand came up and started fiddling with her Shard. A thrill ran through the room.

"Annoying little things aren't they?" Monica asked. Everyone looked at her. She grinned. "Thrills. You don't know where they come from, and they go away without telling you why they showed up at all."

Draco looked at her. "Now that was funny." Then he smiled. A real smile, one that wasn't calculating or disdainful, but genuine. They all stared at him, surprised. "They aren't always annoying though." Monica raised one smooth black eyebrow. "Sometimes they're quite nice." Her mouth dropped open then snapped closed again. She cleared her throat, looked down at the floor, then back up at him. He winked at her. Her violet eyes widened. Still smiling, Draco looked around the room at the others. "So who did what that gave us all that particular thrill?" he asked.

Harry, struggling to reconcile this Draco with the one of ten minutes before said, "Rhia, Rose and Ron and I all had our hands on the crate. I haven't moved since then."

"I was touching this board here," Ron said, placing his hand on said board. His eyes were narrowed on Draco.

"I had just swept Vestan off the crate," Rose said, "and I haven't moved my hand since then either."

"Well Rhia, what were you doing?" Ana asked.

Rhia was frowning in concentration at her left hand where it rested on the top of the crate. "I think my hand was here, but I can't be sure."

"No…" Harry said. He picked up her left hand. Her right hand fisted around her Shard in reaction. "It was here, one board away from mine." He put her hand down on the crate and another thrill swept through them all.

"Okay… now what?" Draco asked. "Her hand in that spot obviously sets off something."

Hermione squinted at the crate. "Harry, put your other hand on your Shard." He did and there was a stronger thrill. "All right, now Draco, put your hand one board from Rhia's and the other on your Shard. Now Monica do the same next to Draco. Neville, you get on the other side of Harry. Everybody else get away from the crate." When the five of them were around the crate, with their hands in position, there was a loud click and the top popped up about an inch.

"Way to go 'Mione," Ron said, hugging her. She blushed and smiled.

Neville, Harry, Rhia, Draco and Monica all lifted their hands. The lid followed. After a moment of shock, Harry said, "Let's put it over there on the floor, out of the way." So the five of them walked over to a corner of the room, a 2-foot square hovering about an inch under their hands. As they lowered it to the floor, the others staring after them, Harry added, "This has got to be the oddest way to open a crate, even in the wizarding world." When the lid touched the floor, they lifted their hands up again, this time free of it.

"Okay," Rose said, " Ana, Reggie, Lynne and Ginny, let's get around the second crate. We've only got a few minutes left." They circled the crate and went through the same process as the others. The remaining five, Daniel, Fred, George, Ron and Hermione surrounded the last. Once all three were open Rose said, " Now, dive into the one you opened and let's see what we've got."

There were a few moments of confusion as wood shavings were scattered around the room. "Boy there is a lot of packing material in these things," someone said from inside one of the crates.

"Blessed hell…" Rhia said in an awed voice. Everyone looked over at her. She was holding a large flat box with a glass top. Inside were fifteen small daggers with sunbursts carved on their hilts. "I think we all get one of these."

"I didn't think they were real." Rose said.

"That's the part of all this you doubted? Whether or not daggers existed?" Draco asked.

Rose nodded. "Wait until you see them in action. Then you'll understand."

"These must be mine," Daniel said, pulling out two long knives, still in their scabbards. The sunlight glinted on the brass of their hilts.

"Don't pull them out!" Rhia exclaimed. At his look she added, "They've got quite a bit of power to them. If you pull them out now, you might hurt some one."

"I wouldn't cut anyone."

"I didn't say you would." She said. He looked puzzled but was content to examine the hilts. When George pulled out his long bow, Rhia said, "Don't string it George."

He grinned, "I couldn't if I wanted to. I haven't found the string yet."

"Here it is," Fred said. He pulled out his staff. Wrapped around one end of it was a length of silver string.

Rhia opened her mouth. "Don't worry," George said. " I won't string it. Though I would love to know why…" Rhia closed her mouth.

"What is this?" Reggie asked, holding up a bag of feathers. "A pillow?"

"That is something to help you, just as this is something to help me." Lynne said, holding up very large closed aquarium, full of water, but empty of fish. "You know, in the normal way of things, I wouldn't be able to pick this up. It must be at least a fifteen gallon tank."

"It's twenty, and I think it has something to do with our gifts. See?" Ana commented, easily lifting a rock the size of that aquarium from the box with one hand.

Gaping at the girls carrying such large burdens, Neville eagerly reached into the crate for his things. He pulled out a small leather pouch. For a moment he looked disappointed, until he opened it. "Seeds! Hundreds of seeds!"

Ginny glanced over at him. "I'd say it's more like thousands Neville. What do you think of this?" She held up a pale yellow robe, covered in animal paw prints.

"It matches your box," Ron said running a hand down the length of his club.

"It's a robe identifying her gift," Rose said. "How else would animals know to trust her? Goodness these are odd." She was holding two small black rocks, one in each hand.

"Whatever you do, don't snap your fingers," Draco said. Rose raised an eyebrow at him. "You might blow us up. Those are midnight bombs."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked. He hadn't gotten anything out of the crate yet.

Draco smiled a bit wickedly, "Because I've made one before and I know what they look like."

"Why on earth would you make one if they are so dangerous?" Monica asked.

"And why would they be in here?" Rose asked, carefully putting the bombs in her chair.

"I made it just to see if I could. They are obviously to help you with your control. If you can scorch something around them with out setting them off or something like that." He pulled out a black box as everyone gaped at him. An obliging Draco was a bit unsettling. "This must be my potion supplies." Sure enough, inside were countless vials and jars of odd substances. Each was labeled in a loopy script, [I] Eye of Newt, Belladonna[/I] and many others.

Hermione was lovingly stroking the cover of a very large leather bound book. She opened it up and nearly cried. "I can't read it," she whispered.

"I'm sure you can figure it out," Ron said, patting her shoulder. She smiled at him, making him blink and smile back.

"I don't know what this is…" Monica said, pulling out another black box. She opened it up and then looked around with shining violet eyes. "Medical supplies." She smiled joyfully and every male, except for Harry whose head was in a crate and Neville who was examining his seeds, sighed. There was a faint grunt as a certain girl's elbow found its way into a certain male redhead's ribs.

Rhia put down the box of daggers and was about to reach into the crate again, when Harry popped back out of it. The force of her hands moving downwards was more than his moving up and the palms of both her hands smacked him in the forehead and pushed him all the way into the crate. The blood drained from her face and her eyes went vague before she snatched her hands back and fell into Harry's chair. She sprawled there, her eyes wide and stunned.

Harry stood up inside the crate, wood shavings stuck in his clothes and hair. "What was that?" he asked. His green eyes looked a little wild. "What happened? Are you okay?" He climbed out of the crate and went to her. Everyone else stared at them in surprised silence.

Rhia closed her eyes for a moment, then turned her gray eyes to his. "Harry… I think," She lifted a shaking hand and pulled a curl of wood from his hair. "That your power just manifested."

He stared at her, confused. Then his eyes went to her hand, still held in front of him, still trembling. It was his turn to go pale. He took her hand in his gently, staring at her palm. "Did I do that?" he whispered.

Rhia swallowed. "I think so Harry."

He looked at her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean… I didn't know I could… I don't even know what happened."

"You zapped me," she answered. He winced. "It's okay Harry. Like you said, you didn't know you could do that, nor did you mean it." She took her hand from his and brushed his hair from his forehead. "Besides," she grinned at him, "now we match." Harry stared at her, his expression confused.

"Match? How do you match?" Draco asked, breaking the silence.

Rhia smiled her forgiveness at Harry and gently moved him out of the way so she could stand up. She waved her left hand at Draco, wiggling her fingers. There was an angry red burn mark on her palm, in the exact shape of Harry's scar. "See? We match."

"Blessed hell…" Rose murmured softly. She stared at her sister's hand, then happened to look at the clock on the wall. "BLESSED HELL! We're all late for class! Everybody leave everything here except your book bags, dannikits and their boxes. Hurry! We'll have to come back before dinner to put them away properly." There was a sudden flurry of activity as they all dashed around to get their things and leave. Rose tapped Harry, Rhia and Monica on the shoulders, telling each, "Stay a moment please."

When everyone else had reluctantly put their new things back in the crates and had finally left, Rose turned to the remaining three. Ron and Hermione were the last ones to leave and even then She had to pull him out of the room. Rose smiled after them even as she asked Monica, "Can you heal it?"

"What? Heal that? I don't know… What happened exactly?" She picked up Rhia's hand and looked closely at the lightning burn.

"He was coming out of the crate as I was reaching in," Rhia said. "I accidentally smacked him on his forehead," She smiled a bit crookedly, "and his head retaliated."

"But why? I've certainly been hit in the head before and nothing like that has ever happened." Harry said. He staring at her hand, his expression guilty.

Rhia looked at him for a moment, then she frowned. "Stop that. It doesn't even hurt anymore."

"The red is fading," Monica remarked. She looked at Harry, then at Rhia. "But you should probably wrap a bandage around it anyway, to avoid infection."

"Here," Harry exclaimed, "Use this." He pulled a white cloth out of his back pocket. "It's a clean handkerchief." At the surprised looks that the three girls gave him, he flushed. "I got a box from Mrs. Weasley for my birthday with a note telling me to always carry one. So I do. I told her I'd never used them, but she said I might have a need for one. Then she sort of sniffled."

"Thank you Harry." Rhia said, taking it graciously. Monica wrapped it around her hand with deft fingers. Rhia smiled at Harry.

"I figure since it was my fault, I should help fix it." Harry said firmly.

"I suppose it won't work to tell you that is wasn't your fault again, so I won't try." Rhia said picking up the box of daggers with her right hand and putting them in the crate. "You go on to Transfiguration now, and I'll catch up. I need to talk to Rose."

"Mind if I come with you Harry?" Monica asked. "I don't really know my way around yet."

With one last look at a smiling Rhia, he nodded. "I don't mind. What's your next class?"

Monica flashed a violet eyed glance at Rose and said, "I don't really know. McGonagall is the teacher though."

He frowned even as he held the door open for her. "That's odd. That' where I'm going… but you're a Ravenclaw." The door shut behind them.

"He's going to feel guilty about it forever, isn't he?" Rose asked.

"Yes. And I am sorry for that," Rhia answered. She looked at her sister. "How he developed such a code of honor around those demon relatives of his, I'll never know." She started picking up wood shavings from the floor.

"What do you know of his history?" Rose asked, surprised.

"I know everything." Rhia said softly. She started examining a particularly pretty curl of wood.

"How?" Rose asked, her tone annoyed. "I don't know a blessed thing."

Rhia paused in her scrutiny of the wood to look at her sister. Her gray eyes were unfocused, as though she was seeing something far away. "I was doing my job."

"Do you have your schedule with you?" Harry asked Monica. "I'll just make sure that you do have Transfiguration."

"Oh. Okay," Monica pulled a piece of parchment from inside her robes and handed it to him.

Harry glanced down at it. "That's odd… it's all scrambled. I don't know the fifth year Ravenclaw schedule at all, but this is strange. You've got the same classes as me half the time, and the other parts of the time you are with Slytherin or Ravenclaw classes."

"You mean that's not normal?" Monica asked as they descended a flight of stairs.

"No, it's not. I think Rose's table mixing at mealtimes has spread to the class scheduling." Harry said. He paused and looked around them. "Oh for Merlin's sake! The dratted Staircases have moved again. We'll have to find a different way." He turned and went back the way they had come, though it looked different now.

"The stairs move? You mean like an escalator?" Monica asked, staring at the new {to her} paintings.

"What's an escalator?" asked a stuffy voice to her left.

"It's staircase that moves up and down," Monica explained calmly to the skinny, violet dressed woman in the painting. They continued.

"Oh no, they just change direction when they feel like it," Harry said. "You can climb some stairs expecting to get to the North Tower and end up on the third floor in front of a… never mind."

Monica looked over at him. "So what's the couples policy here at Hogwarts?"

Harry was saved from answering because they arrived at the Transfiguration classroom. "We're here," he said, his tone rife with relief.

They slipped into the classroom. Professor McGonagall looked up from her desk. "Good of you to join us Mr. Potter. You are just in time for a quiz on Animagi. Take your seat please. Miss Reed, you are exempt from the quiz, as your records have not yet arrived. You may sit over there beside Mr. Finnegan."

She sat, giving Seamus a friendly smile even as she looked around the room for someone else. That smile sent him into a flushed and gaped mouth stare, but she didn't notice. Harry quickly sat next to Ron, sending him a 'I'll tell you later' look as he pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill.

"I know you were doing your job… otherwise you wouldn't have joined me when you did. What I want to know is how She expects me to do mine when I don't know a bloody thing about one of the most important players in this accursed drama." Rose exclaimed.

"She miscalculated," Rhia answered, smiling a bit.

"About me… or about him?" Rose wondered.

"Both, and neither. The Dark Lord moved much faster than predicted. That was due mostly to that horrible rat…and the loss of one of our most valuable allies. Or he was one, according to Mother."

"He's out now, and busy."

"I know. I saw him this summer. He was in Hermione's mind earlier."

"You mean they've seen him? They know the truth and believe it?"

"Yes. Harry would have gone to stay with him… if it weren't for that rat." Rhia scowled at the curl of wood in her hand. "Crookshanks should have eaten him. Life would be much less complicated if he had."

"And we might not have found the other Guardians in time. Voldemort's speed has forced ours. Much as I hate to say it, that's a good thing." Rose said. She carefully picked up the midnight bombs and put them back in the crate.

Rhia snorted. "A good thing… When his return cost us the last of the Dianor line last year… and caused Harry great pain." She looked at her bandaged left hand.

Rose gaped at her sister. "So that's why there was no one from Hufflepuff house here. I had wondered. You see that kind of thing is important information that as the leader of this team I should know." Rose ranted. "Her miscalculation could cost us more than the end of a line. It could cost us everything!"

"No… because She is here… and so am I." Rhia whispered.

"Our sister is a blind fool! I can't believe she kept so much from me! Even when I spoke to Her two days ago, she mentioned none of this. Merely cautioned me and told me to take care of my cough."

"Cough? What cough?" Rhia asked.

"Every time he's in danger, I start coughing up my lungs. I don't know why. Makes it near impossible to protect him, though I've managed thus far." Rose frowned at the memory of the snake.

"She didn't tell me that."

"Ah! Finally something I knew that you didn't."

"Well now I'm really here, and even if you are coughing up your lungs, I can do my job."

"Don't you think that will be complicated by your hand?" Rose asked motioning towards Rhia's bandage.

"It shouldn't be… though I should probably keep the handkerchief on it. Wouldn't want to draw undue attention to the group."

"Might want to do it to avoid attention to yourself as well. Can you imagine the furor that it could cause among the female population of Hogwarts? I can see it now, 'The Girl Marked by Harry Potter.' The gossip would be vicious."

It was Rhia's turn to gape at Rose. "Do you really think that could happen? Oh dear… Poor Harry!

I do hope it doesn't. For everyone' sake. That would be awful. Especially since we don't…"

"Right," Rose said. "Of course there is his vision… and what Liana told him."

"About that," Rhia started. "Don't remind him of it. I don't want him to think about that yet. Besides, it could be a fluke. This burn may fade away as it heals, and it could mean nothing."

"It could also mean everything." Rose said.

"For heaven's sake Rose, he just met me yesterday! Before that he didn't know I existed."

"But you knew he existed. As you put it, you know everything about him."

"I said that I knew everything that had happened to him, not that I knew everything." Rhia tucked a curl behind her ear and asked, "So, do you want to know his history or not?"

"Of course I do, but Harry, Hermione and Ron are supposed to tell me sometime soon."

"Do you think that with all that has happened already this year and all that is going to happen soon, they will ever have the chance to sit down and tell you the story of the last four years? An awful lot happened you know."

"I suppose not. But what am I going to tell them if they bring up the fact that they haven't told me yet?"

"Just that somebody else filled you in. Which will be the truth if you would just be quiet and let me talk."

And that is how the others found them when they returned to the classroom to put away their tools. Draco appeared first. He stepped through the window and into the classroom, and came to a surprised stop. Rhia and Rose were both sprawled in their chairs. Rose looked stunned, her eyes a swirl of green and gray. Rhia just looked tired. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked.

Rhia cleared her throat. "Just telling stories Draco." She straightened up in her chair, checked the handkerchief on her hand to make sure it was still tied securely and smiled at him.

"Must have been some story." He commented as he took his seat next to her. Rose was staring at him, her eyes now more green than gray. He suddenly found himself saying, "I didn't do anything," he motioned to the cord around his neck, "I can't, remember?"

"Yes… I know. Sorry." Rose said shortly. She looked at the door as the Seventh years came in. George, Fred, Daniel and Ana all crowded in at almost the same time. George immediately gave Rose a speculative look. She raised a suspicious brow.

"I think you'd be perfect for the job." He said cheerfully.

"What job?" Rose asked.

"That is for us to know and you to be surprised about," Fred answered, grinning.

Dan and Ana both laughed. "It's nothing to be too worried about Rose. Just an… experiment of theirs." Ana said, taking her seat.

"I learned early to beware of their experiments. I remember what happened first year," Rose said.

"Ah yes," George murmured, "the incident involving a certain chocolate-covered strawberry and your fair person. I thought it was rather well done of us."

"You did say that it tasted good," Fred laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked as he and the other fifth years came through the door.

"Did I hear something about chocolate-covered strawberries?" Monica asked.

"They're just talking about one of their famous pranks," Draco told her as she sat down.

"Pranks? What pranks?" George asked innocently. "We merely have a well developed sense of the funny side of life." He gave Draco a look that clearly said, 'Unlike some people I know.'

"Enough of this, you're going to start the Shards buzzing again." Rose said, with a careful look at George.

Harry sat down next to Rhia. "How's your hand?" he asked guiltily.

"You're being ridiculous Harry. It's fine," she answered.

Just then Ginny, Reggie and Lynne entered the room. Rose cleared her throat. "Now that I have everyone's attention, we are going to take everything back out of the crates and put them in their places around the room." No one moved for a moment. "Well, get on with it. Make sure the crates are completely empty. I want a pile of those wood shavings put in that far corner."

They all happily got everything out again Hermione, Draco and Monica had already gotten their things from the crate when Rhia picked up the box of daggers again. Harry waited until she was well back from it before he dove in to pull out the packing material. As he pulled it out, Rhia sifted through it and passed it to Neville, who passed it to Reggie, who passed it to Lynne, who put it in the corner. There were various such assembly lines around the room to get the shavings to their corner.

"What do you suppose these are?" Harry asked as he pulled out two brass rods and a round stone. "These were at the very bottom of the crate."

"Let me see those," Ron said, reaching for the rods.

"No!" Rhia shouted, shoving him away. "Don't touch them. Those are the reason for the accident earlier. Lightning rods. Harry, you must have been touching them somehow when I smacked your scar. That explains the sudden manifestation of your power."

"But I didn't know they were in here," he said, staring at the innocent looking sticks of metal.

"Nevertheless…" Rhia looked around. "Nobody can touch them but you, now that they are charged. That's what happened before. I just got caught in the backlash."

"That seems awfully dangerous," Lynne said. "Could you imagine if those things had fallen into my water tank? Electrocution can't be fun."

"It's not," Rhia remarked. Harry winced. She gave him a fierce look. "I told you to stop that. Trust me when I say that what happened wasn't horribly painful, nor could it even be termed electrocution. Like I said, I just got the backlash from the charge you put into the rods. It was a mild shock. That's all."

"But your hand…" Harry started.

"Is Fine. The only reason there was even a burn was because of the place my hand happened to be at the time, on your scar. Now can we get away from that particular topic for a while? We have some work to do before dinner." Rhia carefully took the round stone from Harry and slipped it into her pocket.

Ginny began speaking. "These things are supposed to help us train ourselves to use our gifts, and the Shards make them stronger. Yet when are we going to use that training? When are we going to need to know how to do these things? I mean, I love that I have a gift with animals, and it's amazing that I can understand them more than ever, but what use is that? Why do the Shards need Guardians in the first place? Powerful ones at that."

Rose looked around and realized with a sigh that nothing further would get done until she answered the questions in everyone's eyes. "The Shards need Guardians because, if there is not a group focused on their defense and able to use them, then they can be taken by Evil. Even now, Voldemort is searching for them. The incident in the DADA classroom yesterday was a sure sign of that. If he ever got a hold of them, any of them… then everything my family has fought for, lived and died for, would be worthless. Thousands of years of struggle by those who knew about them and those who didn't. With the power of the Sunstone, The Dark Lord would be more powerful, more evil than ever. For our side, that of Good and Light, the Shards mean hope. With us, their Guardians, the Shards can defeat his evil. As for training, that will begin next class period. I will have to speak with the Headmaster about extra training sessions. We are going to need to be outside for many of these, and the sight of fifteen students using unusual magic will attract unwelcome attention, so a safe practice ground must still be found. The timeframe is till unknown. Until his next move, we can do nothing but watch, wait and prepare," she paused. "Now, the first step to all that is to get these things put into their proper places and to get these crates out of here. None of these tools leave the room yet. Not even yours Ginny. As harmless as it looks, there is power in it."

"What do we do with them then?" Daniel asked, smoothing a hand down one of his scabbard,

"The weapons go there on that wall," Rose said, pointing. "There are already hooks there for them. Neville, Ginny and Hermione, your things go on that shelf. My bombs, Ana's rock, Reggie's feathers and Lynne's water tank all go on the table in the corner opposite the wood shavings. Harry, Draco, Monica and Rhia, your things must be put in the bottom cabinet of the bookshelf. Be very careful Harry, and don't let your rods touch any of the other things."

"Wait, Rhia didn't get anything out of the crates. What's her aid?" Draco asked. Though he tried to hide it, and mostly managed to, sitting next to her made him nervous.

"Yes she did. That round stone Harry pulled out. She got it and put it in her pocket." Monica told him. "What was that thing Rhia?"

Rhia pulled it out again. "It's a guide stone," Rhia answered, smiling slightly at the plain gray stone.

"And what does a guide stone do?" Reggie asked.

"It guides her, you dope," Lynne remarked.

"Hey," Draco asked, "Why didn't they get zapped for that remark."

"Because their comments were made out of affection," Daniel said, giving him a thoughtful look.

Draco frowned. Anondir suddenly appeared in his lap, whirring loudly. He settled down to survey the room. Draco didn't move a muscle. Monica however, went completely gushy. She started cooing at the cream kit, scratching his chin and making kissing noises. Anondir endured it for a few moments, still whirring. Then he trilled and returned to Lynne, who gave him a hug. "Oh he's so cute," Monica gushed. "I know why I don't have one, but why don't you have one?" She asked Draco, her violet eyes sparkling with pleasure.

All conversation stopped and everybody froze in what ever they were doing. That is, everyone except Fianna. She popped her head out of Ron's pocket and looked straight at Draco. He stared at her and for the first time in his entire life, Draco Malfoy was at a loss for words. "I… uh… I … erm…I…"

"There weren't enough to go around," Harry said. Everyone looked at him. He continued, "No one in the Slytherin house got one. There just weren't enough."

"Oh, that's too bad," Monica said. She wiggled her fingers at Vestan, who was sitting in Rose's chair. He waved a paw at her. "They are just adorable." She looked at Draco for a response.

Draco swallowed. He glanced at Kali'na, who was on Harry's head, then at Harry himself. "Yes, they are."

"Excuse me, but I'm still wondering what the guide stone does," Hermione said. Ron gave her a look, his eyes sharp with tension. She returned his look with a lightly annoyed one of her own. "I just want to know Ron. That was the original topic of conversation." She turned away from him to put her book on the shelf, and her quill in the drawer below it.

Rhia cleared her throat. "It's to help me stay in one form."

"What do you mean?" Ana asked. "You are in one form most of the time, aren't you?"

Something flashed in her eyes for a second before she answered. "Of course. It's just that if I stay in an animal form for a long period of time, it is harder to get back to this one. The stone is supposed to help me find my way back if I ever get stuck in a different form."

"Why would you get stuck in a different form?" Harry asked.

Rose licked her suddenly dry lips. "Should I be captured in one of my other forms, I can't change back without alerting my captor of who and what I am."

"Oh. That's a good thing to have then." Reggie said.

Rhia smiled. "Yes." She looked at Rose and something passed between them. They both looked at Harry.

"Okay, now everybody out. Let's go to dinner," Rose said.


	7. Chapter 7

It was after dinner, one that had been decidedly stressful. Draco had sat at his own table, as usual. But it was impossible for him to act normal around his old friends, because of the Shards. So he just stayed quiet and gave them evil glares if they bothered him. Halfway through the meal the first embassy arrived at the Slytherin table. For the first time in a thousand years, someone from one of the other houses voluntarily sat at the Slytherin table. It was Monica. And she wasn't alone. Rhia and Rose joined her. To his utmost surprise, the three young women sat down on either side and across from Draco. Rhia was on his left, Rose on his right, and Monica across from him. The fact that all three were attractive was the only thing that saved them. That and the fact that if any of the other Slytherins so much as looked askance at them, Draco sent them such a frigid look that they were virtually unmolested.

At least as far as most people could tell. The tension at the high table was through the roof. Snape looked so furious, he couldn't speak, McGonagall looked decidedly prim about the mouth and poor Professor Flitwick was so nervous, he fell off his stack of books five times. Monica was one of his Ravenclaws after all. The meal progressed, though there was a thick silence over Slytherin table. Except for the three young women with gold and scarlet and blue ties. They chatted, seemingly oblivious to the stares of every other student in the Hall. If one or two ambitious and rude Slytherin's came away from the table that night with scorched hands, no one said anything about it. 

The thing Draco noticed most was not the number of times one of the many Flint brothers winced. It was the way Monica was looking at him. She only took her violet eyes off his face once, and that was to raise her eyebrow at Goyle, who had just spilled his sixth glass of pumpkin juice after she smiled. She hadn't looked at him like he was some sort of bug to be scraped off the bottom of her shoe, or greedily, as if he was the wallet they wanted access to and they'd do anything to get into it. She just looked interested. In what he had to say. Which wasn't much because he couldn't afford to be too nice. When the meal ended he had given the three girls a nod, manners required it after all, and left the hall, completely ignoring the all attempts to engage him in conversation.

He wandered around the school for a while, puzzling over what had happened at dinner, and what had happened before it. He was a part of something. He didn't want to screw that up. He'd never really been a part of something before. The Quidditch team yeah but… he hated to admit it even to himself… his father had bought him a place on it. He had practiced after that, whenever he could. His father hadn't bought his place in this though. He wasn't quite sure why he had been chosen for this group of do-gooders. Especially since it was actually quite likely that his father…

There was a noise behind him and Draco paused. Somehow he's ended up on the third floor again. He heard voices and slipped through the first unlocked door he came to…

And found himself nose to nose with… "Monica? What are you doing here?"

" Draco… I got lost and then I heard people coming and… I guess I panicked."

"Oh well I can show you where the Ravenclaw"

"Shhhhh… Who's that talking?" Monica whispered.

They cracked the door open together in time to see Professor Snape come around the corner, followed by a black cloaked woman. She was speaking. "I don't understand why we always have to meet here. Do you have any idea what a pain it is to get to this hall unseen?"

"Yes I do… but that is not the point. I have something for you." Snape answered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a parchment that had been folded many times. She took it and tucked it into her own robes. "Was the last one helpful?"

"That has not been decided yet Severus. Perhaps you should wait until you have several of these little missives before we do this again. I don't have time to meet you late at night in a dark corridor every other day." With that she disappeared back into the shadows. Snape stood for a moment staring at the place she'd been. 

Monica let the door shut with an unfortunately audible click. She whirled around to face Draco again in the dim light, her eyes wide with panic. "Quick, kiss me." Draco could only stare at her. "Kiss me you fool!" She whispered fiercely. Then she grabbed his face and pulled it down to hers. 

Her lips were warm and soft. Draco was just getting over his shock when the door was jerked open and a furious Snape was glaring at them. They jerked apart. "What are you two doing in a… broom closet… ten minutes after curfew?" Draco looked over at Monica. They both looked back at Snape. Monica cleared her throat.

"I… I got lost Professor and before Draco found me I"

He raised a black eyebrow at her, "ended up in the broom closet?"

"Actually Sir," Draco said, drawing the fire from her, "That was my fault. I took a wrong turn, and we both ended up in the broom closet." He gave his head of house a smug smile. "I was just about to escort her to her dormitory." 

Snape smiled proudly at his favorite pupil. "See that you do. Soon."

"I will Sir, thank you." Draco said, that smug smile still in place. Snape then went in one direction, and taking Monica's arm, Draco went in another. As soon as they had rounded a few corners away from the professor, he turned Monica to face him. "Why'd you do that?"

"What? Kiss you?" Her mouth quirked up at the corner as she answered, "I figured, correctly, that we would get into less trouble when caught kissing, than we would if caught eavesdropping." She gave him the full blast of her brilliant smile now. "And because I wanted to."

Draco stared at her. "You don't know me… We just met today."

She kept smiling. "I know. Isn't it exciting?" She looked around them. "So how do we get to the Ravenclaw Tower?"

He absently motioned towards the corridor on their right. "Down that hall, Portrait of the Grey Lady I think."

"Great." She looked back at him. He was still looking at her, his blue eyes focused, trying to figure her out. "Goodnight Draco." She started to step away. He put a hand on her shoulder. She paused and gave him a questioning look. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed softly.

"What was that for?" She asked when he pulled away.

It was his turn to smile, albeit a bit wolfishly. "Because I wanted to." He took a step back. "Goodnight Monica," With a firm nod of his head, he turned and walked back down the hall.

"Well," Monica said to the empty hall. "Isn't that interesting?" She turned and went to her dorm.

~~~

Meanwhile, in the Gryffindor Common Room, sat the Guardians from that House, all of them silent. The other students had already gone up to their beds. Ginny was looking a bit weary and Neville couldn't stop yawning. Ron was holding Fianna on his lap and staring at her. Hermione was gazing sleepily into the fire with Nildur nestled in her hair. Fred was sprawled on one of the armchairs with Solida curled on his chest. George was sitting tailor fashion on the floor at Rose's feet where she sat in another armchair. Harry and Rhia sat side by side on the only piece of furniture anywhere near the others, the couch.

Rose yawned hugely, and Vestan stuck his paw in her open mouth. He pulled it out, just in time. She gave him a disgruntled look. "Little furball, that makes the yawn very dissatisfying you know," she told him. He trilled at her. "You're right. I think it's time for all of us to get to bed. No use in discussing the events of the day any longer. Especially since the others aren't here to offer their opinions." She looked around, her gold and blue gaze, shimmering over them all. She used George's shoulder as a grip to pull herself out of the armchair. When he grinned up at her she smiled her thanks.

"Good idea," Ginny muttered. She stood from her place in one of the chairs, patted Andra, who was sitting on Neville's shoulder beside her, scooped up Erian from the back of her chair and started for the stairs. "G'night all." 

A moment later Neville followed, Andra now asleep in his arms. Fred watched him go with a speculative gleam in his eye. George stood and asked Rose, "Could you light that candle for us to take up?" She raised a questioning brow at him. "You know, your way."

"I suppose…" Rose flicked her fingers at the candle in question and a spark of flame flew to light it. 

"Brilliant. Thanks." Fred flashed a grin at her and picked up the candle. He started for the stairs.

"Yeah, thanks." George said, and the smile he gave Rose was subtly different from his brother's. Scooping up Lunia from her spot in front of the fire, he followed Fred.

"Don't stay up too late you guys," Rose admonished as she shoved aside the tapestry in front of her door. 

As it fell back into place, Hermione looked at Harry Ron and Rhia. "I don't think that I can even think straight right now, so more speculation would be a waste of time."

"Hermione, confused? Color me stunned," Ron remarked. He grunted when she kicked him in the shin. She turned on her heel and started up the stairs. "You're right 'Mione." He glanced at Harry. "Coming mate?"

"I think I'll stay down here for a little while longer," Harry answered, his gaze still fixed on the fire. Ron flicked his eyes to the girl next to Harry and nodded, though Harry didn't see it, then continued up the stairs. 

Rhia was staring into the fire as well, her face relaxed, her hands resting in her lap. Kali'na was laying between the two of them on the couch, asleep. Still staring into the fire, Harry asked softly, "Does it hurt?"

And because she knew that he would suspect she was lying, as he had all day, said, "It only aches a bit. Nothing I can't handle." 

He turned to her, "You wouldn't have to handle it if I hadn't…"

Rhia sighed and turned her clear gray eyes to meet his guilt-stricken green ones. "We've already covered that Harry. You didn't know about the lightning rods or even about your power. For all we know, my hand on your scar was the catalyst that forced it to manifest just then."

"Let me see it," he whispered. Sighing, she offered her white wrapped hand to him. Carefully, he undid his handkerchief and looked down at her hand. The burn was still an angry red, but it had faded just a bit. He cradled the injured hand in one of his own and with the other, gently traced the edges with a fingertip. The air in the room seemed to thicken as he met her gray gaze again. "I'm sorry for your pain." 

His words seemed to echo in her head. "I know,' she whispered. Deep within her, something clicked into place, and the hand he held trembled. She pulled it from him slowly. Her tone was firm as she said, "Goodnight Harry." Staring at her, saying nothing, he stood. Kali'na opened one eye and looked at him, faintly annoyed. She leapt to his shoulder and waited.

"Goodnight Rhia," Harry said finally. With only one backwards glance, he climbed the stairs. Ron was already asleep, Fianna on his pillow and Starlight sitting at his feet, staring at the doorway. For the first time since the start of term, amazingly less than a week ago, Shadow was not waiting for him. Yawning, he prepared for bed, reminding himself that she was Rose's cat, not his. Just the same when he later felt her familiar weight as she jumped onto the bed in the dark and heard her purr, he smiled. "Goodnight Shadow." She purred louder and settled on his chest.

He knew it was a flashback dream, one that he had no control over, and one that had tormented him repeatedly over the summer. Still he tried to stop Voldemort from saying those dreadful words… "Kill the spare." But he watched, helpless once again as Cedric was killed, and felt again the pain of Wormtail's knife as his arm was cut for his blood, again he felt the terror as Voldemort climbed out of the cauldron, and the pain… the horrible pain…

[I] "Blessed Hell! Star please…. Let me wake him… He's in pain… Just this once let me wake him… I can't bear it… It hurts… Blessed Hell it hurts…"

"The kit. Put the kit on his head, like before…"

"It's not working… Please just let me wake him up…"

"Not like this…" [/I]

Harry woke up, safe in his bed, Kali'na trilling worriedly on his head, and Shadow staring into his eyes. He was covered in sweat, and his scar was burning. He started taking deep breaths to calm himself. They weren't working. He could feel his heart pound, and Kali'na covered his scar with her paws. The pain lessened and he was grateful. Shadow started to purr, doing her best to calm him as well.

"Blessed Hell…" he said to the cat. "It had been nearly a week and a half since…" He sighed. He'd sweated through his pajamas, so he gently pushed Shadow to his side so he could get up and change. She never stopped purring. He was careful to balance Kali'na on his head as sat up, knowing that she was the only reason he wasn't screaming in pain from his scar. He reached for his wand and whispered, "Lumos." The tip lit and he searched for clean pajamas. As he took off his sweaty shirt, Shadow stopped purring. He glanced at her as he wadded up the shirt and tossed it at the hamper in the corner with his initials on it. She was staring at him in the faint light from his wand. He blushed. He couldn't help it. She blinked at him, but otherwise didn't move a single muscle. He couldn't even see her breathe. He grinned at himself. "This is ridiculous. She's a cat for Merlin's sake." Just the same, he put out his wand before he changed his pajama pants. 

In the dark now, he managed to get his fresh pants on and the sweaty ones in the hamper before climbing back into bed. As he pulled a light blanket over himself he heard Shadow start purring again. He yawned, realized his heart was no longer pounding, nor was his scar burning, and smiled. On the far edges of sleep, he heard voices again.

[I] "Well, that was certainly interesting."

"Be quiet Star, you'll wake him."

"All that wretched yard-work that those beastly relatives forced him to do over the summer seems to have paid off hasn't it?"

"Hmmm…"  


"And he hasn't even started Quidditch training yet."

"Hmmm…"

"What? No other remarks from you?"

"My paw hurts. Now will you please be quiet?"

"Oh… I see… This is your job my dear. You shouldn't feel guilty."

"But I do… Now more than ever…"

"So it's true then."

"What is?"

"Never mind. I need to think. He's stirring again."[/I]

Then there was nothing but the purring of Shadow… and the blessed oblivion of sleep.

***

Harry and Ron were at the Gryffindor table this morning for breakfast, with the Emmortals and Hermione with them. Ana and the Weasley twins were at the Hufflepuff table. Rose, Rhia and Monica were once again at the Slytherin table with Draco. Harry squashed a slightly jealous thought, a thought he had no right to have. Still, he pointed out to himself the fact that this time, it was Monica and Rose beside Draco. Rhia was sitting across from him, facing Harry. Even from across the Great Hall he could see her weariness. When she reached for her glass with the bandaged hand he winced, and found those gray eyes looking directly into his own. She frowned, and he tried to relax. A slight tingle went across his scar. And he remembered. Then he worried. The last time he'd heard voices…

Frowning, Harry tore his eyes from Rhia to look at Ron. He nudged his foot under the table. Ron looked back at him, caught the look in his eye and blinked. He glanced over at Hermione, but she had already caught his tension. She frowned down at her porridge. In her hair Nildur whirred and Fianna warbled an answer. Harry felt Kali'na shift her balance slightly on his head. He stood and said to the others, "I forgot some of my Potions supplies back in the tower. Be back in a bit." He left the Great Hall, trying his very best not to look as hurried as he felt. He devoutly hoped that both Hermione and Ron had understood his look, and that no one else had.

He reached the Fat Lady a few moments later. "Merlin's Earwax," he muttered before climbing through the still opening hole. The Common Room was empty of students, but he still checked every corner. He had just finished when Ron and Hermione climbed into the room.

"All right Harry. What's up?" Ron asked.

"I'm hearing voices again." Harry said simply.

Ron gaped at him as Hermione whispered, "There's something hunting students again?" She paled. The last time this had happened, she had ended up petrified.

"No…it's not like that…" Harry answered thoughtfully. "I usually hear them at night, just before I fall asleep… or after I dream."

"And what do they say?" Ron asked.

Harry frowned. "The first time was after the dream of Atlantis. They spoke about something hurting… and one of them having work to do in the morning. Last night it was different. I heard them on the tails of that bloody flashback dream… and they were talking about waking me up because it hurt. Then I woke up. Finally, just as I was falling asleep again, they talked about…" His green eyes widened. "No… that couldn't be… Could it?"

"What?" Ron asked. Hermione had her thinking expression on and said nothing.

Harry blushed. "They were talking about how the work I did for the Dursleys had paid off."

"Paid off? How?" Hermione asked.

"Whoever or whatever they are, they can see me. I changed my pajamas after I woke up." Harry said, still blushing. 

Hermione lifted her eyebrows, and then her brown eyes swept over him appraisingly. "So I gather that these voices are female?" she asked. Harry nodded. Hermione made a humming noise, but said nothing more.

Ron was frowning at her. Harry spoke up again, "One of them, the same one that wanted to wake me earlier because something hurt once again complained of pain. The other accused her of guilt and reminded her that she was doing her job. Then they both stopped again, and I slept."

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier this morning?" Ron asked.

"Because I didn't remember it until breakfast." Harry answered. [I] And after Rhia looked at me[/I] He pushed the thought away as unrelated. "Now you know, and we can try to figure this out together."

"Shouldn't we tell the other Guardians?" Ron asked. "I mean if something is going on, they should know." 

"Not just yet," Hermione said. "I want to think about this a bit more… and see if it happens again. It's happened twice already and nothing bad has happened." She grinned at Harry. "For all we know, Harry may have truly gone around the bend this time."

Harry grinned back, a bit crookedly. "Why thanks Hermione. I appreciate your support," he said sarcastically.

"You are very welcome Harry, Now you had better go get something for Potions to make your excuse plausible." Hermione answered him. Harry nodded and went up to his dorm. Leaving Ron and Hermione alone in the Common Room.

"What the blazes was that?" Ron asked her hotly.

"What was what?" She asked back innocently.

"Don't answer my question with a question," he snapped. "What was that look I saw?"

"What look?" Hermione asked, genuinely confused now. Ron narrowed his eyes at her, before he could say anything else, Fianna trilled from his shoulder and Nildur trilled back from her hair. Hermione's eyes widened. "Ron I" 

She didn't finish for the simple reason that she couldn't. He had effectively cut off her remark with a kiss. When he backed off a step, it was to meet her stunned gaze with his own. After a moment, he regained his composure enough to nod at her and take another step back. "That's better," he said. Then he turned on his heel and left the Common Room.

Hermione was pleasantly floating above Cloud Nine when what he said finally registered. Then she came crashing down, shaking with fury. Somewhere, her rage-fogged brain filed away the information that this time, the Shards didn't zing her or anyone else. But she was too focused on finding Ron, and possibly ripping his face off, to really notice.

Harry came down the stairs to find Hermione standing there, glaring at the Portrait hole, with her hands clenched into fists, and Ron nowhere to be found. He was about to beat a fast retreat back to his dorm when she whirled on him. Her eyes were narrow, furious slits. Nildur was perched on her shoulder, his fur fluffed out to make him twice his normal size, making her hair look even bushier than usual. Luckily for Harry, he was smart enough not to remark on that. "What happened?" he asked tentatively.

"Your FRIEND is a jerk, that's what!" she yelled. She scooped up her book-bag and headed to the door. "I'm going on to Potions." She called back to him.

Harry looked at Kali'na. She looked back at him as if to say, 'Don't ask me. I was with you the whole time.' He returned to the Great Hall. Ron was sitting with his brothers now, talking Quidditch. Harry walked over. "Ron, we need to talk on the way to class. Come on. See ya fellas." He grabbed a bagel and headed out of into the corridor again. 

Ron joined him a moment later. "What's up Harry?"

They were headed to the dungeons. "What did you do to Hermione?" Harry asked. Ron flushed and mumbled something. "What?"

"I kissed her." Ron said again.

Harry's eyebrows shot up and he stared at his friend. "Apparently you didn't do a very good job of it, because she's absolutely livid."

Ron flinched. "I know."

"Well?" Harry asked. "Tell me what happened so I don't make your mistake." He laughed as Ron punched him in the arm. "Come on pal, what happened?"

~

Ron stared at the floor. Fianna grumbled. He said really fast, "I sort of kissed her because of the way she looked at you." 

"What? Me?" Harry asked incredulous. "What look?"

Ron cleared his throat. "The one right before she asked if the voices were female."

Harry thought back and still came up with nothing. "I don't remember." 

"It was stupid. I yelled at her about it, then I kissed her, said 'That's better,' and walked out of the room."

"Well," Harry said, "We know one thing is for sure."

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"She can't kill you because you're a guardian." Harry said.

"Thanks for the support Harry." Ron said, glaring at him.

"You did it, not me." Harry pointed out.

"Yeah I know." Ron muttered.

"Brace yourself," Harry said. "We're going in." They walked into the Potions classroom. 


	8. Chapter 8

Most of the other students were already there. Hermione was at the front of the room, sitting next to Rhia. Both girls refused to look at them as they sat at the desk behind them. Harry had to admit that it was very strange not to be talking to Hermione in Potions. Of course with Snape being well Snape-ish, they never had really talked anyway. Still it was strange. But the strangest thing of all was Malfoy. Not once did he remark on the incompetence of Neville or any other Gryffindor. His fellow house-mates did, but none of them had the bite or finesse that Draco had developed to perfection. For which Harry was thankful. There was no telling what Hermione would have done if Draco had made a snide remark. Of course there were the Shards as well. 

The class ended without incident. Hermione swept past them both, speaking to no one. Rhia flashed a warning look at Ron and followed. Ron sighed and they went on to DADA. 

It was the same in DADA. She never said a word. Didn't even answer a question. Harry searched his memory and couldn't find a single class session where Hermione hadn't raised her hand at least once. It had never happened before. Professor Jameson greeted her sister with a smile and nod. The class went on. They all completed the lesson that had been interrupted by the snake in the last class. This time, she just released the Cridders into the classroom, without particular objects for them to replace. The class, with the help of their Dannikits was able to find every one of the Cridders, with little trouble. After Hermione caught and changed her Cridder, she sat at her desk and read for the rest of the class. To Harry's disappointment, Rhia did the same. She also followed Hermione to Arithmancy.

It wasn't until they were on their way to Divination that Harry realized Rose wasn't with them. "Hey Ron, have you seen Rose?"

Ron shook his head as they climbed a flight of stairs. The divination classroom had been moved to the Astronomy tower until the former classroom was repaired. "I think she's following Ginny's class today." 

"Oh." They finally made it into the tower. Fortunately, this room had better ventilation than the other, and the smell of the incense was almost pleasant. After having professor Trelawney once again predict his death Harry zoned out. Until Parvati screamed.

Everyone stared at the girl. Her face was absolutely white and she was pointing a shaking hand out on of the windows. "A Grim…" she moaned, "I saw a Grim at the edge of the Forbidden Forest."

Harry shared a look with Ron instead of rushing to the window with the others. While Trelawney was trying t calm a hysterical Parvati, and a near-hysterical Lavender, Harry whispered, "Snuffles." Ron nodded.

~

Parvati and Lavender both had to be escorted to the hospital wing for sedatives. Their fervent belief in the death omen of the Grim combined with Professor Trelawney's barely restrained dire predictions made it so the girls had to be almost carried from the room. Seamus and Dean had that dubious task. Trelawney dismissed the class early because she wanted to consult other mediums to discover if they too pointed to Parvati's fate.

Harry and Ron went immediately to the find Hedwig and send her to Sirius with a note, to set up a meeting. He would most definitely want to know of their new status as Guardians. Harry was careful to word the note so that should it be intercepted, the reader wouldn't know a thing. Granted, the possibility that it would be intercepted was slim, considering Hedwig only had to go into the Forest right outside the school, but they were taking no chances. Tying the note to her leg, Harry whispered, "All right Hedwig, now don't go directly to Sirius. Get there in a roundabout way and maybe loop through Hogsmeade. We don't want to lead anyone to him." She nipped at his fingers affectionately and swooped out the window. 

Harry looked at Ron. "Now, let's head down to the greenhouse for Herbology. With luck, we'll get there before Hermione and maybe come up with a plan for you to apologize."

"Apologize," Ron started as they headed around the building to the greenhouses. "But I…"

"Did you or did you not kiss her and then run away?" Harry asked.

"Well yes." Ron said.

"Then you should apologize." Harry stated.

"But Harry," Ron started.

"Look Ron, we need her with us before we talk to Sirius, and the next Guardian meeting could be decidedly unpleasant if she talks to the other girls. Something she has already begun. Didn't you see that look Rhia gave us after Potions?" Harry asked.

"I did. But why would she talk to the other girls about it?" Ron asked.

Harry sighed. "Because that's what girls do Ron." Ron sighed and looked around. There were a few yellow dandelions growing in the grass. The path they were on wasn't used much. Ron stopped and stared at them. "What is it Ron?"

"We should pick those." Ron said.

"Why? They're just dandelions." Harry remarked.

"We should pick them… so that Hagrid doesn't get into trouble. He is the groundskeeper after all." Ron explained, already holding a few of the flowers.

"They're weeds Ron. I saw a million of them this summer, and pulled up twice that. Hagrid's not going to get into trouble for just a few." Harry said.

"Then you know that if they go to seed, there will be a million, and then Hagrid will get into trouble." Ron said. He had a fistful by now.

Harry sighed again. "That's true." Even as he was picking them he remarked, "He probably has some weed killer that would just zap them where they are."

When they both had large handfuls of the yellow flowers Harry asked, "Now what?"

"Now… we go to Herbology." Ron said.

"With handfuls of weeds?!?! Professor Sprout would hex us!" Harry exclaimed.

"We aren't taking them into the greenhouse Harry." Ron said as they rounded the corner of the building, just in time to see Rhia and Hermione come around a different corner. "Okay hand them to me and you get Rhia inside with the rest of the class."

The light slowly dawned on Harry. "Oh that's brilliant Ron. Good luck." He thrust the rest of the dandelions at Ron and tried to saunter casually towards the girls. Hermione still looked furious and Rhia looked… sympathetic. "Hello girls. Rhia, if you want I could give you a run down of what we've covered in this class so far. Ever heard of the Phileo plant?" He took her arm and she jolted a bit, and it was that which made it possible for him to steer her into the greenhouse before she could protest.

As the door slid shut behind them, Rhia turned on him. "What was that about. I know all about the Phileo plant."

"Yeah I know. I also know that you were supposed to run interference for Hermione. Believe me, you don't want to interfere with this." Harry explained. 

"What do you mean?" Rhia asked.

"You'll see…" Harry said. He glanced at the frosted glass of the Greenhouse walls. "Or she'll tell you."

Rhia looked at the glass as well. They couldn't see a thing through it. "What's he doing?" Rhia asked.

Harry grinned. "He's apologizing." 

"Really? Well that's good." She turned back to the class. Professor Sprout had not yet arrived. "How long do you think it will take?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "How long would you make a guy apologize if he brought you handpicked flowers?"

Rhia blinked. "He picked her flowers? Probably not very long." Harry filed away that little tidbit for future reference. Sure enough a moment later, a flushed and smiling Hermione walked in with a very happy Ron. Nildur was in his box, with the bundle of flowers. Neither Hermione nor Ron said anything. They just went to their usual spots in the room and left Rhia stuck with Harry. Not that either of them minded that. After a moment Harry pulled Kali'na off his head to put her in her box. Professor Sprout was one of the teachers who insisted that the Dannikits stay in their boxes. Dean's kit had tried to eat one of the Phileo plants the first day they tried to be without the boxes. And Lavender's had tried to dig a hole under the Night blooming Redlines. So all Dannikits were required to remain boxed for the class period. 

The class went quickly. Hermione and Ron smiled at each other often. So often in fact that Hermione didn't even raise her hand to answer a question two times during the lesson. She did manage to answer most of the others however. Neville really shone in this class. His hand went up every time. By the end of the class he was grinning from ear to ear and Andra whirred happily in response. 

There was two hours before dinner. The five fifth-year Gryffindors decided to go sit out by the lake. To their surprise, they met Daniel and Ana there as well. Reggie and Lynne, who were followed soon after by Rose and Ginny soon joined them all, and finally the Weasley twins. 

"So… What are we all doing out here?" George asked as he sprawled on the ground next to Rose.

"We're enjoying the sun," Ana answered him. She was rolling a couple of rocks between her fingers like a pair of those Asian stress reliever doodads. Daniel sat next to her, playing 'Catch the String' with Phantom and Segan. 

The others were relaxing too. Reggie was laying on the grass staring up at the clouds and Lynne watching the giant squid blow bubble patterns in the surface of the lake. Ron and Hermione were sitting next to one another, leaning against a large boulder and talking quietly. Neville had wandered over to one of the bushes on the shore and was examining it. Ginny was playing 'Keep Away From My Tail' with Erian, Kali'na and Vestan. Harry and Rhia would join the game every once in a while to see the reactions of the kits. Lunia and Solida soon joined them as well. Then Daniel threw the string into the mix and there was quite a melee for it. Everyone was attacking everyone else's tail mistaking it for the string, or vice-versa. Nildur and Fianna left their companions to join in the fun and were soon followed by Andra, Ikarus and Anondir. 

There was about ten minutes where all everyone did was roll on the ground helpless with laughter before Rose managed to get enough breath back to call Vestan to her. When his head popped out of the roiling mass of fur to look at her, they all collapsed into laughter again. Vestan disappeared into the game again. The jumping, rolling, wriggling kits were gradually moving away from the laughing companions and towards the castle. Right to the feet of Draco and Monica as they arrived. Monica was already giggling at the dannikits. Draco looked slightly confused. He looked at the laughing students, then at the growling and whirring dannikits. 

"What are you laughing at?" He exclaimed. "They're killing each other!" Then he started grabbing for the wriggling little bodies. Everyone stared at him, shocked, as he kept unsuccessfully trying to separate the kits from each other. He finally ended up with a squirming Fianna in one hand, and a whirring Kali'na in the other. He was breathing hard, and looked slightly panicked.

"They were just playing Draco. Playing a game. Not fighting," Monica said. She was looking at him, her violet eyes puzzled.

"But, they were growling." he said, still holding Fianna and Kali'na. Ron was watching his kit tensely, but she didn't seem to be under any undue stress. Harry merely waited.

"They're animals Draco. That's how they play." Rhia told him. The other kits had stopped their game and were now pretending nothing happened. Every one of the ten that were still on the ground had somehow managed to get their fur straightened out, unfluffed, and clean. Kali'na trilled at Harry. Slowly, Draco put her on the ground and she bounded over to him, immediately taking her customary spot on his head. It was only then that Draco realized which kit he happened to be holding. His crystal blue eyes, which had lost their panicked sheen became worried. He carefully cradled Fianna in the palms of both hands. She looked at him with her own bright blue eyes for a moment, trilled at him, then looked at Ron. Ron was standing not more than two feet away now. Draco took a step and handed her to him. Everyone else was quiet. Most of them still stunned at Draco's reaction to the kits' play.

Draco looked at all their puzzled faces, glanced at Monica's confused smile. He frowned and then growled, "I'll see you all tomorrow." He then turned on his heel and would have gone back into the castle. 

But Monica put a hand on his arm. "Wait a minute. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I have some studying to do that's all." And he was gone. She watched after him for a long moment, while everyone else was getting his or her bearings back.

"Well that was odd." Reggie said.

"You'd think he'd never had a pet before," Lynne said, cuddling Anondir.

"At least not a nice one." Reggie added.

Monica shook her head finally and turned back to the others. "So what was all that about anyway?"

"What?" Rose asked.

"Is there a reason all of us are together again, out here? Or did we just happen to come to the same spot at the same time?"

"No reason that I know of," Rose answered.

"So none of you got a compulsion to come to this particular spot?" Monica asked.

"Not really," Daniel said. "At least I didn't. Not this spot anyway. I just wanted to come outside. Why? Did you?"

"I don't know," Monica answered. Her brow furrowed for a moment in thought. She shook her head again. "Never mind. Hey, any of you know a girl named Cho?"

"A bit yes," Harry answered. "Why?"

"What's her problem? She was in my Transfiguration class this afternoon. All I did was mention that I had a class with you three," she motioned to Harry Ron and Hermione, "and she leapt down my throat. Telling me to stop lying and to stay away from you all. Strangest one-sided conversation I've ever been a party to. And I've been party to some dooseys. When I asked if she was finished, she huffed and wouldn't speak to me for the rest of the class, which made it quite complicated, considering she was my desk partner. All she did was glare at me for the rest of the period. After that class, I ran into Draco in the hall," she flushed a bit. "Literally ran smack into him, and she was right behind me. She made some remark that I didn't catch and then stalked off." She looked directly at Harry. "So… I repeat… What's her problem?"

"Well I…uh…" He blinked at her. Ron and Hermione looked uncomfortable.

"Didn't you ask her to the Yule Ball last year?" Fred asked. 

"I thought she went with…" Daniel trailed off.

"She did," Harry said softly.

"Who?" Lynne asked.

Harry swallowed and said, "Cedric Diggory." He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand and looked away, out over the lake.

They were all quiet. Rhia exchanged a significant look with Rose, who looked at Monica. She looked confused at the sadness that had suddenly struck everyone. Her eyes asked the question for her. Rose stood up and went to her. "He… was killed last year," Rose whispered to her, "by Voldemort."

"Oh dear. That's awful," Monica replied. She looked stricken for a moment, then she frowned. "But if Cho was in love with him… then what was she going on about?"

"There's no telling," Ana said. "She's been strange all week. Isn't she our Seeker Daniel?" He nodded. 

"Didn't she sit next to Harry at dinner the other day?" Reggie asked. "That first day, when Rose sat with us."

"Yes she did," George said. He looked as though he would have said something else, but a look from Rose stopped him.

"Oh. I see," Monica said. "I think I'll be going to the library now. I… have some studying to do. Things are a bit different here than in California." She turned to stroll casually away, but Rose and Rhia smiled knowingly at her back.

Ginny looked at her brothers. "When's the first Quidditch team meeting?"

"We're not sure," Fred said. "McGonagall was going to post something in the Common Room."

"That's right, you all need a new captain this year don't you?" Daniel asked.

"That's right, we do. And I'm trying for Keeper as well," Ron said.

"Ought to be interesting then," Daniel commented.

"It certainly will," George said. There was a glimmer of a challenge in his blue eyes. Daniel grinned wolfishly and a good-natured debate ensued.

Harry hadn't moved or commented. He didn't even join in the Quidditch debate. He just stared out at the lake, his eyes looking far into the distance. Together, Ana, Rose after Rhia whispered something to her, and Hermione got the four arguing boys to head into the castle for dinner. Ginny pulled Neville away from his bush and the Emmortal twins went inside with them. This left Rhia with a morose Harry. Kali'na was pouncing on a fluttering leaf by his side, trying in vain to cheer him up.


	9. Chapter 9

"Harry, are you all right?" Rhia asked. He didn't say anything. She moved to sit right next to him. Reaching out, she put her hand on his shoulder. They both jolted at the touch. He turned grieving eyes to hers.

"It's my fault," he whispered. "The people around me always get hurt." He glanced down at her hand on his shoulder. It still had his handkerchief wrapped around it. "Always."

"You didn't kill him Harry. Voldemort did. Don't take on burdens that aren't yours. You have enough as it is." Rhia said softly. She smiled a bit. "You've got broad shoulders, but they aren't broad enough for that. No one's are." Suddenly she pulled her hand away from him and took off the white cloth. She looked down at the faint red line of the lightning bolt. Then she put that hand on his cheek to keep him from looking away. When her scar touched his skin both of them jolted again. 

"Rhia I…" he started.

She shook her head to stop him. Her gray eyes were intense. "Though he told you Cedric was just a spare, he lied. He was as much a target as you," she said. 

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "Why would Voldemort want to kill Cedric?"

"He would have been a Guardian. The last of his line," Rhia said. "That's why both of you were made Champions. He wanted both of you." 

"Why are you telling me this now?" Harry asked. "Why not with the others?"

"Because you needed to hear it now. And they don't. Not yet." Rhia whispered. Her hand was still on his cheek. Realizing this, she started to pull away, but Harry covered it with his own. "Cho likes you," she blurted out.

"Why? I've barely talked to her," He said. Keeping her hand in his, he moved it to his lap.

"Rose told me about her sitting by you… and what happened." Rhia said.

"Nothing happened," he said. Kali'na whirred as she climbed into his lap on top of their hands.

"But the two of you have a history," Rhia murmured. She stared down at their dannikit imprisoned hands.

"I'd call three conversations something other than a history," Harry told her. Somehow, even under the kit in his lap, he managed to move his hand to entwine his fingers with hers. "You and I have more of a history than that."

Gray eyes locked with green. Kali'na's whirring thrummed in the air. Rhia swallowed. "Harry I," she stopped and licked her suddenly dry lips. His gaze shifted to her mouth and stayed there for a moment before returning to hers, more intense than before. "Harry this," she stopped again. Then he leaned in and touched her lips with his. Just that light touch and both of them were jolted with an electric sizzle. She stiffened. Harry leaned back again. She was staring at him, mute.

"I'm sorry," he began.

"Harry Potter if you tell me you're sorry one more time, I'll hex you," Rhia snapped out. "You don't apologize for kissing a girl," she smiled a bit, "especially to the girl."

"I shocked you," Harry said.

She grinned. "If anyone ever asks, we'll tell them that when we kissed for the first time, sparks flew."

He smiled back. "First time? Does that mean there'll be a second time?"

"Well I don't know. We'll just have to see, won't we?" Rhia said. She squeezed his hand and smiled. From where they sat, they could hear the clock in the foyer of the castle strike six. "We should go in to dinner."

"One moment," Harry stopped her. This wasn't hard, considering he still held her hand, and Kali'na was still curled on top of them. She raised her eyebrows in question. "Sit with me?"

She smiled. "Of course." His smiled brightly and then kissed her again fast. The sizzle this time was stronger, and the energy from it sent them both to their feet. Somehow, Kali'na managed to get onto Harry's shoulder. They walked back into the castle still hand in hand.

Monica breathed a sigh of relief. She'd found the Library. Finally. This castle was a maze that changed every thirty seconds. It was alternately annoying and charming. For example, Five minutes ago, it had been annoying when she discovered she'd been walking down the same corridor for ten minutes, somehow going in a circle. Now, in the Library at last, it was once again charming. This room was unlike any she had seen thus far. Shelves upon shelves of books, from the enormous to the tiny, all of them about magic or magical things. Now to accomplish the mission that she had set herself… All she had to do was find the subject of that mission. She began to search the aisles.

"Shut up Goyle, I'm not going to help you smash some dim-witted Hufflepuff just because he looked at you sideways." Draco sneered. "Besides everyone looks at you sideways, it's the only way they can."

Monica came to a stop and peeked through the books on her left to the aisle beyond. There was Draco and two large boys she recognized as his seatmates from their Transfiguration class. She was eavesdropping, knew it, and accepted it as something that she just had to do. She waited.

Draco went on. "Stop looking at me like that. It wouldn't be prudent you great lummox. We have more important objectives, and that could blow it for us." He turned to face the shelf she was peeking through and she ducked hurriedly.

"Potter." One of them grunted.

"What? Oh yeah," Draco said. "Potter." His tone was odd. Calculating and yet thoughtful.

Monica frowned. What was going on? They were friends. Weren't they? She had to see what they were doing. She moved to another space between books, and found herself looking directly into his crystal blue eyes. He blinked and she stepped back from the shelves, wondering if he would say something to her now. Instead he turned back to his friends and said; "You two go on to dinner. I'll be there shortly."

"Ravenclaw." One of them grunted again. Monica almost shrieked. 

"She may sit at our table again, she may not. That is certainly up to her now isn't it?" Draco told him. "Now go." The Slytherins lumbered away. Monica thought briefly about grabbing a book from the shelves and pretending that that was the reason she'd been looking at shelves. But that wasn't her style. At least, not recently, with him. She just waited for him to come to her.

"Are you lost again?" he asked, sauntering around the bookshelf, his blue eyes fastened on her.

"Not anymore," Monica answered. "I was looking for you."

He raised a smooth blond eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because when you left us at the lake, you were upset. I wanted to help." Monica said. Of course that wasn't the only reason… but he didn't know that.

"Nothing you can do about it. It's the past. Was that the only reason?" His gaze was piercing on hers.

Okay maybe he had a suspicion. She cleared her throat. "I … wanted to apologize for running into you after Transfiguration."

Both blond eyebrows were up by this point. "You already did. Just after it happened. And you didn't knock me down or anything. So there was really nothing to apologize for in the first place."

Oh bugger. She'd forgotten. Well, not really. He certainly hadn't been knocked down. It had been like running into a wall. One draped in expensive fabric… She put those thoughts away and tried to come up with a response since he'd blasted the apology excuse right out of the water. His blue eyes went icy all the sudden and she almost shivered. "Did they send you here to spy on me?"

"Who? What? No I…" She shook her head vehemently and sighed. There was nothing for it. She had to tell him. "I wanted to walk to dinner with you. That meant I had to find you. When I did, you were talking to your friends and I didn't want to interrupt. Who would want to spy on you?" The last was a bewildered question.

The ice in his eyes melted. "You did." There was a faint smile on his face now.

"Yes well," Monica started.

"It would be my pleasure to escort you to dinner Miss Reed. Shall we?" He asked, offering her his arm. Still slightly bemused she took it and together they left the Library.

In the Great hall, George, Fred, Ron and Daniel continued their debate, even as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. With a final look of disgust, Hermione and Ana went to the Ravenclaw table and sat down. A moment later they were joined by Neville, Ginny, Reggie and Lynne. Rose stayed with the boys, trying to get them to stop, before the debate turned into a full-fledged house war. She had just managed, barely, to get them under control, when Cho plopped herself down on the bench next to Ron and asked, "So, is Harry not coming to dinner then?"

"He'll be here," Ron answered, suddenly noticing that Hermione was not sitting next to him. "Excuse me." He stood up and moved to the Ravenclaw table, across from Hermione and the other girls.

Cho turned to Rose, "Is he with that new girl? The one with the weird purple eyes?"

Rose raised her eyebrows and her eyes went from calm gold to swirling green. "What business is it of yours?"

Cho backpedaled hastily, "I just wondered. She doesn't strike me as quite right for him that's all."

"And what makes you an authority on Harry Potter?" Rose asked. She could see George watching her, and saw also that the other Guardians each had one eye on her, keeping up their own conversations while monitoring hers.

Cho smiled and managed to blush prettily, "Well, he and I are, well,"

"Obsolete," Fred remarked cheerily as Harry walked in holding hands with Rhia. The two of them were walking slowly, towards the Gryffindor table.

Cho looked up at the approaching couple. Her pretty face flushed a deep red, before paling again. Her mouth tightened and then relaxed. She took a deep breath. Saying nothing, she stood and went to the other end of the Ravenclaw table. "That was… interesting." George said to Rose.

"Yes it most certainly was. But not as interesting as the new development currently approaching," Rose said as Harry and Rhia took their seats across from her. She smiled brilliantly at them. Rhia looked over at her and started to frown. Rose continued, "Good evening. You both just missed a fascinating conversation with Miss Chang."

Harry looked surprised and Rhia's frown deepened. Harry glanced at her. Something happened then to make her eyes widen and brought her smile back. Only then did Harry smile. Rose raised a sisterly eyebrow in question, but got no response. She took a thoughtful bite of mashed potatoes. Rhia was keeping her injured hand under the table. 

"There's something even more interesting," George commented. He tilted his head to the door. This time it was Draco that entered, with Monica Reed on his arm. He escorted her to the Slytherin table and she took a seat next to him. Crabbe and Goyle looked befuddled for a moment before grinning grotesquely.

"Oops. That's my cue," Rose said, standing up. She turned to George, "Care to join me?"

George looked over at the Slytherin table. "Sorry, no. Can't do it. Would make me lose my appetite." 

"That's too bad," Rose said. She motioned to Ana, who looking a little apprehensive, was already moving to that table. With a cheerful wave, Rose left the Gryffindor table and moved to Slytherin.

George sighed. "Isn't it just." He continued his meal, keeping a watchful eye on the two girls with all those Slytherins. Monica seemed to have been taken under Draco's wing, so he wasn't worried about her. Not as much anyway. The three of them were the only ones without the silver and green colors of Slytherin house.

George had gotten to the pre-dessert course of the meal without tasting a thing. For some reason, tonight his feeling of apprehension about Rose was stronger. Fred noticed his twin's preoccupation. "Hey bro, she can take care of herself," he told him by way of reassurance.

George frowned at his glass of pumpkin juice. "I know that, I just… have a feeling, that's all."

"What kind of a feeling?" Daniel asked.

"The kind you get when there's a bludger flying straight at your head, but you don't know about it until it's almost too late," George said.

Daniel frowned. "That's the same feeling I've got."

"Now that you mention it…" Fred started. When an ice cream sundae appeared on his plate, he shoved it away. "I'm not hungry anymore."

The three boys looked at one another. On a hunch, George glanced over at the Ravenclaw table. Ron was looking at his plate with a mournful expression on his face. George whistled for his attention and got it. He made a motion with his left hand. Ron nodded and responded with a similar gesture. "What was that?" Daniel asked.

Fred grinned, "Sorry pal, Weasley family only. Ron's got the same feeling we do." 

"Which means that some of our new skills have kicked in." Daniel said after a moment of staring at Fred.

George suddenly scooped up Lunia from his lap and lifted her to his face. "All right Lunia my girl," he whispered to the kit, "I want you to go to Rose. Go carefully, but not directly to her. Once you get to Rose, don't leave her until I come to fetch you. Understand?" Lunia tilted her head at him for a moment before trilling an affirmative. He grinned and put the kit on the table. She whirred playfully at him, swatted at his empty glass and took off bounding from tabletop to tabletop, zig-zagging across the hall. The white kit somehow managed to avoid knocking over a single plate, or upsetting a single goblet. She came to a almost graceful skidding stop in front of Rose. Vestan started a conversation with her that sounded rather like music. Full of trills and whirrs and grumbles.

Rose looked over her shoulder at George, eyebrows raised in question. He frowned a warning at her before she could stand up. She stayed put. Just as he stood up, Solida, Phantom and Fianna all rocketed toward the Slytherin table, then away from it, then back to it, until they too were seated in front of Rose and Ana. Segan and Vestan were both griping at the new arrivals when someone at the far end of the room shrieked…


	10. Chapter 10

It was Lavender. She was pointing a shaking hand at the doors into the Great Hall. A young man stood in the doorway looking pale as death and nearly as filthy. Pain filled eyes searched the hall until they settled on Rose. "Vesta," he moaned. Then he slid slowly to the ground, unconscious.

George, Fred, Daniel and Ron were already up and moving towards the fallen man by the time many of the students even knew what had happened. They surrounded him and Ron checked his pulse, finding it weak but steady. Dumbledore stood up, raising his arms for silence. "It's all right. Everyone please continue your dinner. Miss Jameson would you and your class please join me in the infirmary?" They all headed towards the still unconscious man, the Headmaster in the lead. Lunia managed to perch on Rose with Vestan, Phantom with Segan on Ana, Solida ended up on Monica, and to everyone's shock Fianna voluntarily perched on Draco's shoulder. He got many strange looks, most of which came from his own housemates. Especially when he joined Harry and the rest. Upon reaching the four boys standing over the newcomer, he said, "Would you all mind carrying him? It would take much to long to get a stretcher."

They nodded. George grasped the young man under one arm and Fred got the other. Daniel and Ron picked up his feet. He was much lighter than they would have thought, so the journey to the infirmary was not difficult, though it was silent.

Upon reaching the infirmary, the 16 conscious people were met with a concerned and confused medi-witch. She directed them to place the mysterious gentleman on the nearest bed and began examining him. Dumbledore turned to the Guardians. "Miss Jameson, do you know this young man?"

Rose looked at him and then at the new patient. She swallowed hard and glanced at Rhia, who was pale. "His name is Alaster Raine," Rose said. "I have no idea what he's doing here, or how he found me."

"How do you know him?" George asked. He and Daniel were standing on either side of the head of the bed. Madame Pomfrey kept scanning Alaster's mid-section with her wand.

"His family has known of mine for hundreds of years. They've waited centuries to find the Guardians." Rose said. She sighed. "It looks like he finally succeeded where so many generations failed."

"He's sustained a severe injury to his chest Headmaster. Something sliced him up before he reached us," interrupted the medi-witch. She started to remove his shirt. The black cloth was caked with dried blood. There was an even more blood-soaked bandage wrapped around his chest. As Madame Pomfrey cut away the bandage, Monica stepped forward to help. There was a long diagonal slash across his pale chest, still trickling blood in places. George and Daniel stepped back to allow the two healers to get to work. In the meantime, Dumbledore looked at the Jamesons.

"What does he want the Shards for?" Lynne asked. She had turned away from the wounded Alaster to stare at a wall.

"Not the Shards," Rhia said. "The Guardians."

Reggie was staring at the flying fingers of Madame Pomfrey as she magicked the wound clean and wrapped a fresh bandage around it. "What would they want us for?"

"We're not sure," Rose said, "but we've always avoided them."

Dumbledore smiled at them all. "It's coming together."

"What's coming together?" Draco asked. His voice was chilly, but only out of defense against what was before him.

"It'll be revealed to you," said the headmaster, "when it is time." He turned to the medi-witch. "When you're finished, please revive him long enough to talk to them Poppy. There are things he must tell us before much more time passes." She nodded and went to fetch an Awakening potion.

Dumbledore looked once more at Alaster and said, "I think I'll return to the Great Hall. I have some teachers to calm." He turned to the Jamesons again. "I'll send your sister to you." Rhia and Rose nodded. With his trademark twinkle bright and lively in his eyes, Dumbledore left the infirmary.

Madame Pomfrey returned and handed a small vial to Monica. "Wave this under his nose and he should wake up. I've already given him something for the pain, so he should be okay for about twenty minutes. Then he MUST sleep if he is to heal properly." Then she went back to her workstation, leaving the Guardians with the man who had hunted them.

Monica took a deep breath and looked at the others. "Well, here it goes." She waved the vial under his nose. He inhaled pale blue vapor. In the next instant, his eyes were wide open and staring at them. Monica had cleaned his face while Madame Pomfrey was working on his wound. His face was still pale, but clean now. There was a thin scratch under his left eye. His eyes were hazel, no longer pain-filled. He pushed himself into a sitting position, still staring at them silently.

"Hello Alaster," Rose said. Her eyes were as gray as Rhia's. He turned those hazel eyes to her and stared.

"What do you want?" George asked from his side. Alaster turned to look at him. His expression showed disbelief, as he slowly looked at every one of the 15 students that were crowded around the bed.

"Great Light," he murmured finally. "You're all here." He smiled. No one smiled back.

"What are you doing here Raine?" Rhia asked. She had tucked her left hand into the folds of her robe. Harry found it, and held it in his own. Her hand was cold with fear.

"I came to help you," he shook his head, "The Guardians, all of them in one place and I found them." He grinned. "At last."

"Help us with what?" Ana asked him.

He smiled at her. "You must be Gaea, the Earth Mother. I am here to help train you in your gifts. My family is one of teachers. I know more about your gifts, than you do."

"That's not her name," Daniel said. "What do you mean you are here to train us?"

Alaster looked at him for a moment. "You are Brand, the sword blade. My family has studied all literature about the Guardians, and the Guardians themselves for centuries. There were only a few families that we were sure had the lineage; the Jamesons, the Emmortals, the Weasleys and the Tasners. We followed the Jamesons, for they were the leaders."

"Yes, but why? Why follow them at all? What was the purpose?" Hermione asked. All those, whose names he'd listed were staring at Alaster, stunned.

He smiled, "You must be Veda, the seeker of knowledge. The purpose is to aid you in your work. Have you not found the training difficult?"

"We haven't even started yet," Neville said.

"Oh. Well that is good Teva, nature walker. That means you don't have anything to unlearn." Alaster said.

"Why do you keep calling them by names that aren't theirs?" Draco asked.

Alaster narrowed him eyes at the Slytherin. "Ah. You are Draco. The dragon. I did not know your birthnames, only your gifts. The names are linked to those."

"But his name IS Draco." Monica said.

Alaster blinked. "Really? How odd. You are Althia of course. The Healer."

"How would you help us?" Harry asked. 

Alaster looked at him, and his eyes went immediately to his scar. "You are Barrak. Lightning. I know how you are to control your gifts. I can teach you how to use them to the full extent, for the good of what you Guard."

"Is that why you called me Vesta, in the Great Hall?" Rose asked, before his gaze could move to Rhia.

"Yes. You are the guardian of the sacred fire. The fire of life." Alaster said. "You are also the leader of this band, and the one who needs my help the least, for you know your gift, and have used it throughout your life."

Ron cleared his throat. "You said you knew my family had the lineage. You haven't followed us? How do you know this?"

"You are the fighter, Donaghy. And a Weasley I think. My family keeps a loose eye on all the ones we suspected, but some of you are a surprise." His gaze flicked to Hermione and Monica. "For some of you, our eye was too loose, and we could not spare you pain." Now his eyes fell on Harry and Neville. "But my job is to see that you can do yours. When the time comes."

"You gave us all names. What were they?" Reggie asked.

Alaster frowned and looked back and forth between Reggie and Lynne. "You, and your sister, are the child of the wind Canace and the waterfall, Linne. I cannot say which is which yet. There is also Tivona, lover of nature," He glanced at Ginny, who was pale where she stood next to Neville. "And the staff bearer, Virgil and the archer, Iomar. That must be the two of you," he nodded at Fred and George. "Which leaves you," he looked directly at Rhia, "to be Levina. Your gift is a mystery, because there is only one thing known about you."

"I know what that one thing is, and they already know my gift." Rhia said.

Alaster nodded thoughtfully and looked at them all. He frowned suddenly. "I think the potion is wearing off." Then he was asleep.

"Blessed Hell! What is he doing here?" Cora exclaimed from the doorway. "We don't have time to start this all again somewhere else. And moving 15 people to another country would be extremely difficult."

"Be quiet Cora. He's asleep." Rose said softly. They all stepped away from the bed.

"I don't care if he's bleeding to death. How did he find us?" Cora asked. Her delicate blue eyes were obviously furious.

"We don't actually know yet. He's not here to harm us. In fact he is here to train us." Rhia told her sister.

"Our family has been running from his for centuries and now you're telling me he's not dangerous?" Cora asked.

"She didn't say that. He said his family's been following us, so that when the time was right, they could help us to do our jobs," Ana said softly.

"He gave us names too." Lynne said, "Though mine and Draco's are the same or nearly. Names that fit our gifts."

"You mean he knows of all of you?" Cora asked.

"He does now." George said. "Apparently he's known of our family for centuries."

"And mine," Daniel said.

"And mine," Ana put in. Her voice was still soft, and stunned.

"But Monica and I were a surprise to him," Hermione said. 

"Well Monica would be. She was an alternate," Cora said. "But Hermione you,"

"What?" Monica said.

Cora's eyes widened. "Oh. Uh…" She looked at Rose and Rhia. Both of them were frowning at her.

"Professor Jameson," Draco started. "Perhaps you should finish." His eyes were cold again.

Cora cleared her throat. "Raine followed another family line. Until it ended."

"What do you mean?" Monica asked. "He didn't know about me because I wasn't supposed to be a Guardian?"

"No, not that. You were always a Guardian… even before you were born. He was just first in the Records." Cora said.

"Who?" Monica asked.

"What Records?" Hermione asked. Ron tapped her shoulder to distract her. It worked.

Cora looked at her sisters again. They nodded, resigned now. Cora took a deep breath. "Cedric Diggory."

"But he died," Monica started.

"Yes. He died because he was to be a Guardian. Voldemort thought to disable you all, by taking one of your number. He did not, and I hope to Merlin still doesn't, know of Monica's family. Yours was completely left out of the Records for security reasons, for just such a time as this." Cora explained.

"What Records?" Hermione asked again. She gave Ron a steely look when he tried to distract her again.

"It's a bad copy of your book actually Hermione. And it doesn't have everything yours has." Rose said.

"Unfortunately for us," Rhia said, "It has knowledge enough to be dangerous, and we think Voldemort has it." They were quiet then, thinking of what that implicated.

"Would this be a large, thick book with a green leather cover and a Phoenix embossed on the front?" Draco asked suddenly.

"Yes…" Cora said, staring at him. "How did you know?"

He smiled. "Because I have it."

"WHAT?!?!?!" All three Jameson sisters exclaimed.

"It's in my trunk. I took it from our library at home because it looked interesting." Draco said. He straightened his back and looked more arrogant than ever as what that meant about his family occurred to the group.

"Voldemort knew that Cedric was of the Dianor line…" Rhia said.

Draco's chin went up and his eyes went cold. "I took it this summer. Never saw it before that. I can't even read it. It's in some ancient language."

"Perhaps it will help Hermione with her book if you bring it to the meeting tomorrow." Rose said. "A contribution to the cause." Jaw still set and eyes still cold, he nodded. Monica was looking at him, bewildered.

"What meeting?" George asked.

"I've just decided that we will meet here after lunch tomorrow. It's Saturday, so after the Quidditch meeting I'm sure some of you will have, there will be no classes," Rose said. "We need to talk to Alaster some more and perhaps plan some practice sessions outside of class. And I still need to talk to the Headmaster about a practice field for us."

"Maybe we should go to bed now," Neville said. "It's almost curfew."

"Good idea Neville," Ginny said. "Professor, would you mind escorting us to our dormitories? We don't want to get caught in the halls after curfew again."

It was only then that all dannikits returned to their own companions. Monica patted Solida one more time before the kit went to Fred. Fianna had made not a sound, nor a movement the entire time she sat on Draco's shoulder. He had walked carefully and tried not to unbalance or otherwise bother her, the entire time. She in turn, ignored him completely, even though he had carried her for the better part of half an hour. She leapt to Ron's shoulder and somehow made her way into her box from there. As they left the infirmary, Starlight glided into the room. The cat mrowled at Ron and he wiggled his fingers at her in response. Then she went to Alaster's sleeping form and leaping onto the bed, curled on top of his feet her green eyes staring at the students. "I guess she's taking up guarding him herself," Ron said.

"This is the first time I've seen her in two days and the wretched feline didn't even acknowledge me," Cora grumbled. "Let's go all of you." She escorted them through the quiet castle. They met no one, nor did they talk. Everyone was trying to absorb what they had learned. They left Draco at the end of the hall from the Slytherin dormitory. No one noticed when Monica slipped back around the corner. 

She stopped Draco just after he said his password, but before he could step into the empty Common Room, with a hand on his arm. His back was still straight and his chin still up in the air. He whirled on her, an obviously scathing comment on the tip of his tongue and blue eyes that froze her where she stood. With an effort, he swallowed the comment and tried to school his features into a semblance of normalcy. She was staring at him quizzically. "What do you want?" he asked, his tone harsher than he meant it to be.

"Someday," Monica whispered, "I hope you'll tell me what that was about."

"Nothing. It's the past," he said, thinking, [I] but it could be the future as well… If my father…[/I]

"If you say so. Are you all right?" she asked him, her hand coming back to rest on his arm.

"I'm perfectly fine. Shouldn't you catch up to the others?" he snapped.

"Hmmm… You're not fine, but there is nothing I can do about what is wrong," she answered thoughtfully. "Yet." He stared at her, his expression unreadable. She patted his still rigidly straight spine. "But I do know what to do about the broom handle you've got stuck in there."

"What?" He was honestly bewildered now.

"I can get rid of it." He blinked at her. She smiled with a twinkle in her purple eyes. "It belongs…" She took a deep breath, "in a broom closet." His jaw dropped. Her grin grew until she was nearly laughing out loud. He told himself later that he did it to keep her from laughing and possibly getting them caught… but he didn't do a good job of convincing himself. With a suddenness that shocked them both he swooped down and kissed her. Before she could even move, he was gone. After a stunned moment Monica grinned again, then hurried after the others. 

When the rest of the Guardians reached the Ravenclaw dormitory, where they were to drop off the Emmortals, Ana and Monica, the latter was looking a little more flushed than usual. She came from behind the others and slipped into the Ravenclaw Tower without a word. Then the Gryffindors made their way to their own Tower and their beds. Cora left them at the portrait of the Fat Lady.

All four Weasleys were thoughtful and the twins barely managed their goodnights before disappearing up the stairs to their dorm. Ginny was pale as she stumbled to her room, Erian whirring comfortingly. "Good night you all," Neville muttered as he too made his way up the stairs. Hermione hugged Ron, Nildur trilling worriedly as she turned and without a word, went to bed. Now there was only Rose, Ron, Rhia, and Harry left in the Common Room.

"Good night," Ron said. "See you in bit Harry." Then he too was up the stairs.

Rose looked at Rhia, who was looking at Harry, who was looking back at her. "Good night you two. See you at Breakfast." She got no response. Smiling slightly, she shoved aside the tapestry over her door and disappeared.

"You want to ask me something, don't you Harry?" Rhia said. She sat down on the couch, pulling him down beside her.

He smiled, "Yes, actually." He glanced up at Kali'na's front paw, all he could see of her. She climbed from his head to the back of the couch. She settled there, staring into the fire. His green gaze returned to Rhia's. "Alaster said your gift was a mystery. How is that possible, when he knew everyone else's?"

She smiled at him, her gray eyes sparkling with mischief. "I'm very good at hiding."

He grinned. "I would imagine so." His hand found hers again and they watched the fire for a while.

"That wasn't all, was it Harry?" Rhia asked softly.

"I just wondered what the one thing that is known about you was." He looked at her solemn face. "You don't have to tell me. I just wondered."

Rhia sighed. "I can't tell you, not yet. Too many things hang in the balance. No matter how much I wish I could, I can't." 

He was drowning in her eyes. Those imploring gray pools had just sucked him in, without so much as a warning splash. "It's all right," he heard himself say. "I understand." She smiled in relief. He stared at her. "I have one more question." She nodded. "May I kiss you goodnight?" She went completely still, then nodded once again.

He leaned in and kissed her. The shock was different this time, almost painful in its intensity. But it was gone after the first contact. Then there were only his lips, and hers. He pulled back first. Those beautiful gray eyes of hers were cloudy and dazed. He grinned a purely male grin. After a moment, she blinked to clear her vision and she saw that grin. He never saw the fist that hit him in the gut. He grunted, still grinning, albeit painfully. She slipped free the hand he still held and stepped away. "Mr. Potter, you are positively shocking," she exclaimed, glaring at him. After a pause he let himself chuckle. She allowed herself a small smile. "Okay, bad choice of words." She sat down on the couch again, but a bit further away from him. "It's a good thing Alaster is here I suppose." Her smile stretched. "He can teach you how to kiss…" Harry frowned. Rhia laughed. "…without zapping me."

"That would be useful." He said grinning at her. They both laughed.

"Good night Harry," she said finally.

"Good night Rhia," he answered, but neither of them moved until Kali'na trilled. He stood, scooping her up. Rhia remained sitting. He headed towards the stairs. At the top he turned back only to be momentarily blinded by the light from the settling fire and to find her already gone. He sighed and turned to his door, nearly tripping over a pacing Shadow. "Oh, sorry Shadow, did Ron shut you out?" He pushed it open and watched as the gray cat ran ahead of him to his bed and jumped gracefully onto it. Ron had kindly left one candle burning in the candelabra for him. He changed quickly, and climbed under the covers. He fell asleep smiling, with Shadow purring and Kali'na whirring.

***

"That's wonderful George. I'm so glad. We're going to need that sort of thing all too soon." Harry whispered back. 

"There's more," George said as they rounded a corner and passed through a crowd of third years headed outside. "We've made you a silent partner."

"You've what?" Harry burst out. They got some strange looks from fellow students and Harry waited until they were in an empty corridor before asking again, "You've done what?"

"We've made you a silent partner, because of your investment," George said with a grin. "That means we make the jokes, and you will eventually get a share of the profits. When there are some."

"But that's not why I did it George. I don't want,"

"Stow it Harry. You deserve it. We don't even know if we'll make any money at all." George said. But there was a gleam in his eyes that said otherwise. Harry gave up trying to argue as they reached the Library.


	11. Chapter 11

All the Fifth year Guardians except for Malfoy were crowded at one table in the corner. At first glance, they were doing some sort of homework assignment, but on further inspection, the topic had nothing to do with any school subject. The books they were looking at all had something to do with Atlantis. Every known piece of literature about the legend was there on that table. Even Ron was reading avidly. Of course he was reading over Hermione's shoulder, but the concept was there.

"I gather this was Hermione's idea," Harry said, grinning at his friend even though he was still reeling from the shock George had given him.

"Actually it was Rhia's," Hermione said primly.

"Really? I'd have thought you would have already read all of this stuff," Harry said.

"No, I've been studying other things. My mother told me most of what I know about Atlantis. Family stories can get distorted over time. There is a remarkable collection on the subject here." She smiled at them all. "And we all decided to check them out."

"Where is Rose?" George asked.

"She's with Dumbledore, trying to make a section of the Forbidden Forest Unplottable." Neville said.

"Oh, well I'll see you all at lunch then," George said and he left the Library.

~

"That was odd," Ron said, watching his brother leave.

"So what have we got?" Harry asked, looking at Hermione's precisely written notes.

"So far, nothing we didn't already know," Hermione said.

"Well it's all news to me," Monica said. "No one's told me the whole story yet." It took them until lunch to get everything told. Monica merely stared at them when they finished. Finally she said, "So we must all be descendants of the Daughters of the Sun then."

"Or their counterparts," Rhia said.

"Counterparts?" Harry asked.

Rhia looked at him, then back at Monica. "There were male protectors of the Sunstone as well, but they had no name. As such, they did their job quite effectively. Until that last day of course. When Lianna sent them all away." They were all silent then. Harry thought about his dream, and his vision, but for some reason, he couldn't remember them as clearly as he had just the day before.

"Oh Blast!" Hermione exclaimed. "We're late to lunch." She slammed her book closed.

"That doesn't matter," Neville said. "It's Saturday."

"But we have the session with Rose right after lunch," Hermione told him. This caused quite a stir as everyone started closing their books and scooping up dannikits. Madame Pince stalked up to shush them, but instead merely sent them on their way, leaving her to put away the books.

They joined the other Guardians shortly thereafter for a quick lunch, Alaster showed up as they were finishing. He stood there nervously for a moment. Dumbledore nodded at Rose, who motioned to the others, including Alaster in the wave of her hand. She stood and left through a side door. They followed after her. Monica pulled Draco along with her, to the amusement of his Slytherin pals. As soon as they were out of sight of the Great Hall his smirk fell away and he almost smiled warmly at her, but caught himself when Harry glanced back. The hurried outside the castle and towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest only to be met by…

"Hagrid? What are you doing here?" Rose asked, obviously startled.

"I'm here to escort you to… well you know where," he said in what he thought was a whisper, but was actually quite booming. Harry was very glad to notice that they were the only people outside the castle. Everyone else was still at lunch. "Dumbledore's orders," Hagrid continued. "Can't have students wandering… unescorted." He threw a wink and a grin back at Harry and Ron. They both shuddered in memory.

"Oh, well all right then," Rose said. "Let's get going." They followed after the looming figure of Hagrid and the confident form of Rose. The Emmortal twins were looking extremely nervous as they filed beneath the dark canopy of twisted trees, Monica gripped Draco's arm with both hands. Harry nearly grinned, remembering the terror-stricken shrieks of Draco during that detention first-year, but a warning warmth from his Shard kept the grin under control. No one else seemed to notice the heat from their own and Harry wondered if everyone got a warning before they got a full zinging.

Rose stopped at a particularly nasty looking tree. She stared at it for a moment, thinking. Vestan leaped from her shoulder to the ground and walked towards the tree. He put a paw up in the air next to the trunk, all seven claws extended and brought it down again. There was a very faint ripping noise. Vestan trilled. Rose smiled. "Thanks dear. There it is." She placed her wand just above the dannkits paw and brought it up until it was as tall as she. There was a sound like that of a zipper being undone. She reached out with her left hand and seemed to pull away a curtain. One that looked exactly like the Forest itself, to reveal a clearing among the trees. 

Rose glanced over her shoulder at the others. "Please hurry through, the spell is trying to mend itself already." Sure enough the bottom of the forest curtain that Vestan had ripped was already knitting itself back together. The kit hopped through his own doorway and the other eleven followed him without a single glance at their human companions.

"Well, how's that for gratitude," Fred muttered as he helped Reggie through. Rose was holding onto the curtain with both hands now, holding her wand between her teeth.

"Don't talk to us about gratitude Fred Weasley," Ginny said before she stepped through the door. "You've already tried to test one of your jokes on Solida. She would have none of it and that has you miffed." Ginny disappeared into the clearing, Fred following after protesting.

Ahhh familial bonding," Ron muttered. "Isn't it grand?" Harry laughed. He looked at Alaster. The man was staring after Ginny with a positively gleeful expression on his face. Harry moved closer to hear him mumbling something about gifts already being accepted and how that was wonderful and would make training much easier. Alaster stepped through the curtain, though for a second Harry thought Rose would let go of it and shut him half in/half out of the clearing, but George caught her eye and took a grip of the curtain. She sighed and Alaster passed into the clearing without noticing a thing.

"Well hurry up," Rose said crossly. With a wave and a grin to Hagrid, Harry and Ron followed Hermione and Rhia through. Soon after them, Rose and George entered and the tear disappeared. Hagrid nodded and went back to the castle. Harry looked around.

The clearing was large and surprisingly sunny. The dannikits were playing in the grass, Fred and Ginny were staring stonily at them. The others were wandering around looking into the Forest, touching the invisible wall that surrounded them. Other than a rather large boulder to one side, the clearing was just that. Clear. Rose cleared her throat. "Now, If you'll get me one moment, we can get started." She walked to the boulder, smiled and tapped it with her wand. A portion of the boulder disappeared. Inside the boulder they could see their classroom.

"Wicked," Ron, Daniel, Fred and George all said at the same time. Still smiling, Rose climbed into the boulder classroom and fetched her incendiary aids and climbed back out again. 

"Don't just stand there. Get your things.' She said, and they hurried to do just that. 

Carrying her Book back out into the clearing, Hermione asked, "If the clearing is joined to the classroom, then why did we have to come through the Forest to get here?"

"That was only the first time. From now on, we'll get here through the classroom." Rose said.

Alaster was staring at the daggers Rhia brought out. "These are the Phoenix daggers… I thought they were a myth…" His voice faded.

"You believed all the things about our gifts and find the daggers surprising?" Ginny asked him.

"Your gifts, and yourselves were undisputed facts of my life. These daggers on the other hand have only been seen twice since their forging." Alaster said. He reached toward the box only to have it shut nearly on his fingers by Rhia.

"Guardians only," she told him simply. He blinked at her and nodded. Then he turned back to the others, clearly surprised at their aids, though not nearly as much as he had been about the daggers. 

He turned back to Rhia. "So what is your aid?" he asked. He was clearly angling for a hint of her gift.

"Oh I don't need your help Alaster. I've been using my gift all my life. Even more than Rose has used hers." Rhia said cheerfully. "Thanks for the offer though." She smiled. Alaster frowned slightly but instead of pursuing the topic he turned to the four boys that were now toting weapons.

Harry was carefully carrying his lightning rods. He felt a not unpleasant buzzing sensation in his fingers from the rods and guessed that meant they were still charged. He walked to Rhia's side as Alaster was examining Ron's club. "So why didn't you tell him?" he asked softly.

Rhia glanced at the rods and whispered, "There must be a reason that he doesn't already know. Until he guesses, or someone orders me to tell him, I'm not saying a word." She smiled. "Besides, what I told him is true. With a sister that can throw fireballs, you learn quickly the art of hiding."

Harry smiled back. Before he could ask who could possibly order her to tell Alaster, Rose called for their attention.

~

"All right everyone, shall we get started?" She smiled. "I want George, Fred, Daniel and Ron over there on that patch were there isn't any grass. Reggie, Lynne and Ana, I want you over by the boulder. I'll join you in a moment. Draco, Monica, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Harry and Rhia, you all just find a comfortable spot in between the two groups." She looked around. "Well? Get where I put you." There was a flurry of movement as they complied.

"Where would you like me?" Alaster asked loudly.

Rose stared at him for a moment. Finally, grudgingly, she said, "Where ever you think you will be most useful." He went immediately towards the boys. Ron was swinging his club like a bludger bat and barely missed striking Neville on the head as he passed. Fred was running his fingers up and down the staff. Alaster came up behind him and cleared his throat. Alaster suddenly found himself lying on the ground with no idea how he got there. His ears were ringing and his head throbbed. Fred was looking down at him, jaw gaping.

Alaster took a deep breath and sat up gingerly. The clearing was completely silent as everyone watched to see what would happen next. He looked up at Fred and grinned. "I knew it was all based on instinct with you four. This shouldn't be hard at all." He touched the swelling bump on the side of his head. "At least, not if I get a helmet." There were a few smiles from all of them as Fred and George helped Alaster to his feet.

"I'm sorry," Fred said, "I…I didn't know I could do that."

"I did. Should have realized coming up behind you was a bad idea." Alaster said with a grin. "Let's get started then. Brand, take out those knives of yours please." He motioned to Daniel when they all just stared at him

"Perhaps you should call us by our real names," Daniel suggested as he prepared to pull out the blade in his right hand.

"I did. Your real name is Brand." Alaster said, confused.

"Hang on, I thought those names were just what your family called us." George said.

"It is. Those are your true names, the names of your ancestors." Alaster explained.

Fred sighed, "Look, maybe we're not getting through to you because I coshed you on the head. We would like you to call us by the names out parents gave us. Not those of our ancestors. Make sense?"

Alaster frowned. "I… I'll try. If it will make you more comfortable."

"It definitely would make me feel better," Daniel said. He pulled his blade out of its sheath with a metallic hiss. Like the one on his kit box, it was etched with curling vines of brass all the way down the blade edge. The hilt was overlayed with what looked like dragon scales, but weren't quite.

"It's beautiful." Alaster sighed, staring at the blade.

"I wish he would stop doing that sort of thing," Harry murmured to Hermione.

She made no response because her nose was already buried in her Book. She was muttering something under her breath and making notes in a little pad that she's must have pulled from her pocket. Rhia was over talking to Monica and Draco. They were setting up Draco's cauldron and potion-making supplies. Before joining the other Elementals, Rose obligingly lit a fire under the cauldron. This sent Alaster into spasms of ecstasy, even as George was stringing his great longbow right next to him Fred intelligently moved the full quiver of arrows further away from his brother, so he wouldn't be tempted to shoot anyone. Ron was idly swinging his club, careful now not to hit anyone. 

Harry looked down at the lightning rods in his hands. They were about a foot and a half long each, made of a metal he'd never seen before and etched with ancient symbols. He assumed it was the language of Atlantis. Before he could ask either Rose, Rhia or Alaster if he was right, the buzzing from the rods got stronger. He could almost see the electricity coursing through the metal. It was coming from his body. An arc of lightning passed from one rod to the other, creating a flash of blue-white light. Everyone looked at him. He could feel his hair standing on end. "Sorry," he muttered. Alaster skidded to his side.

"Don't apologize Bar…Harry. You have found the key to your tools," he said smiling.

"But I didn't do anything. I was just standing here holding them," Harry said, bewildered.

"Really? Hmmm… Have you used them before?" Alaster asked studying him.


	12. Chapter 12

Harry started to say yes, but Rhia shook her head at him from behind Alaster. "Yeh…no. Well when I first touched them, they got charged or something, but that's it." Luckily, everyone else seemed to have caught on the Rhia's gift was not to be revealed to Alaster Raine. Apparently, he wasn't to know about the newly forming scar on her hand yet either.

Rose turned away from them and back to her fellow Elementals. She held a fireball in one hand. "Now, with elemental magic, the power comes from within yourself. From what you are made of. From what everything is made of. I want each of you to hold a bit of your element in one hand, and we'll see what we can do with it." Ana picked up one of her smaller rocks, Lynne cupped some water in her hand from the tanks and Reggie just looked at Rose.

"Um… Rose… How am I supposed to hold air?" she asked softly.

Rose looked positively flummoxed. She stared at Reggie, in shock. "I… I… I have no idea." Reggie looked crestfallen.

Alaster left Harry concentrating on his rods and walked over to the girls. "What's the problem?"

"You can't see air… How is she supposed to work with it?" Lynne asked, nearly as crestfallen as her sister.

"You silly girl. Close your eyes and [I] feel[/I] it around you. You don't have to see something to know it's there." Alaster said matter-of-factly. "Muggles don't always see magic, but many of them know it exists."

"They aren't supposed to," Ana said. She was rolling her rock around in her palm.

"But they do. Not all the tales of magic that are written, are written by wizards or witches. Many are from muggles, who witness something and don't have their memory wiped, or fancy that they imagine the things they write about, when in fact it's something that could or did happen." Alaster said.

"We're getting off the subject," Rose said briskly. "Now I want each of you to focus on the bit of element you have with you. Reggie just cup your hand and focus on the air there. Focus on it… and tell me what you [I] know[/I] about it."

"What do you mea… oh. Oh my…" Ana said. She was staring at the rock in her palm. "This rock was here before the school was built, attached to a much larger rock. Probably that boulder. It is comprised of quartz, granite, there's even some limestone in it. It hasn't done much since it was broken off the rock when the earth shook…" She stopped and looked at Rose who was smiling. After a moment she turned to Lynne.

Lynne bit her lip and stared at the tiny bit of water cupped in her palm. "None of it leaked out," she said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Reggie asked.

"I mean, none of the water leaked out of my hand while we were talking. It's got the exact same amount in it now as I took out of the tank." Lynne said.

Alaster smiled. "You wanted it in your hand, it stayed in your hand." 

Lynne blinked at him. "You mean water does what I want it to do now?"

"Within reason of course. You can now make use of all it's properties if you need to." Alaster explained.

Reggie frowned and closed her eyes, all her attention focused on her hand. After a few moments she opened them again. "I can't tell anything about it. It keeps moving around."

"Tell it to stop then," Alaster said. 

She looked at him oddly, and feeling just as silly as he had said she was said, "Stop." All the sudden no one in the clearing could breath. The air was as thick as molasses and they couldn't pull it into their lungs. As everyone's expressions started looking panicky Reggie made a slashing motion with her hand since she couldn't talk, and the air lightened considerably. Everyone took great gulps of the once again breathable air. Reggie started crying. "I'm so sorry…*SOB*I didn't know… I don't…*SOB*I don't want that power…*SOB* I could have killed you all…"

Daniel walked over and he and Lynne put their arms around her. "But you didn't. You made a mistake, and it's done, fixed, no hard feelings. None of us are the worse for wear and no one blames you," Daniel told her softly.

Rose cleared her throat, "I think that's enough for today. Let's head back to the school" She started to the boulder.

Hermione stood up and asked, "If someone saw us come into the Forest, shouldn't we come out of it again?"

"Oh, no one was watching us," Rhia said.

"How do you know?" Ron asked.

"Because most of them were at lunch, and the few that weren't in the Great Hall were with Cora, pulling extra duties." Rhia said. "Don't worry, we've got it all covered."

And so they went back to the school, through the boulder that was somehow linked with their classroom, Daniel and Lynne still calming Reggie down. It seemed to be working. She wasn't sobbing anymore. When they were all through, dannikits, tools and all, Rose turned to what now looked like a small door into the clearing and said, "Practice made perfect." The opening disappeared. After putting everything back where it came from, they all crowded around the door. Rose squinted at the door. "Wait I think someone is on the other side." She peeked through and hurriedly pulled her head back into the room.

She turned back to the others. "I think we're in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" George asked as he moved through the others to stand beside Rose.

"The Potions Master kind," Rose said.

"Then we'll just wait until he leaves," Hermione said. "He can't stand out there forever."

"That would be fine," Rose said. "Except that she saw me."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"The woman he met the other day is back again. She saw me." Rose said softly.

"That woman can't be back again. She told him not to summon her until next week," Monica said.

"What?" Rhia asked.

"You weren't with us when we saw Snape meeting her, so how do you know who we're talking about?" Harry asked.

"More importantly, how do you know she told him not to summon her until next week?" Ana asked.

"We heard her tell him so." Draco said. He was tense, once again waiting for accusations or glares that never came. "Monica's first day. I gather that was the second of such meetings… and this is the third. One that wasn't supposed to happen."

"I wish we could hear what they are saying," Daniel said.

"Like if they're trying to find a way in here to grab Rose," George said.

"They can't get in, the window is only open to people who are supposed to be here, remember?" Rhia said.

"Then could someone please explain why we are in trouble? If she can't get in and neither can he, then what is the problem?" Lynne asked. She still had an arm around Reggie and both of their dannikits were perched on her shoulders.

"If you would all be quiet for a second, we could find out if there is a problem at all!" Alaster snapped. He moved George away from the window/doorway, touch his wand to the corner and whispered something. Suddenly they could hear what was being said out in the hallway.

[I] "I don't care if we're fifteen thousand feet up in the air. I want you to lean out that window. I'm not trying to kill you Severus. I just want you to check something for me before we say another word."

"But Madame…" Snape's voice faded, before he sniveled, "I see nothing out of the ordinary My Lady. Merely students wandering on the grounds." 

"Hmmm… come back in here. You summoned me here. I'd appreciate it if you would tell me why you disobeyed the orders. I wasn't supposed to meet you again until next week."

"He has come."

"What? Who has come?"

"Raine is here. That idiot Jameson woman has insisted he become her assistant."

"Which… idiot Jameson are we talking about here?" The woman's voice was even huskier than usual, as if she were suppressing strong emotion.

"The oldest. The one Dumbledore gave my job to. Cora."

"I see. This is important information Severus. Thank you." There was a pause. "However, that does not mean that you can continue to summon me anytime you wish. I do have other duties you know. If you try to do so before the scheduled time next week I shall be very angry with you."

"But My Lady, you said that my information was important."

"It is. Which is the only reason that you have not already felt my wrath. Good day Severus."

Silence for a time, then, "Wretched woman. See if I tell her anything again. Snapping at me as if I were a child…" His voice faded, as if he were walking away. [/I]

~

Back in the classroom, Alaster pulled his wand from the window/ doorway and turned to stare at the others. "I know that woman," he said softly. His hazel eyes were strange. They were shocked and disbelieving and confused and… something else that was indiscernible.

"Who is she?" Rose asked.

"Someone… I did not expect to be here." Alaster said.

"Well now she knows that you are here," Rhia said.

"And we know that Snape is giving her information about us." Harry said angrily. The lightning rods in his hands gave a warning sizzle and Hermione took a quick step away from him, towards Ron.

"Conveniently, right outside our classroom too." Ron said.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all. She saw me. I'm sure of it. Though…" Rose trailed off.

"What?" George asked.

"It was odd. I knew she saw me, but in that split second, I couldn't see her. I have absolutely no idea what she looks like. How is it that I know she saw me, if I didn't see her face?" Rose asked the room at large.

"There's obviously magic at work here," Daniel said. Everyone looked at him. He managed to hold his face straight for a moment longer before grinning.

Everyone smiled then, except for Alaster. He was looking out the real window to the courtyard, his eyes thoughtful. "This complicates things," he murmured.

"What does it complicate?" Reggie asked. She still had tearstains on her cheeks, but her eyes were angry. "I don't like that you're not telling us anything. You still haven't told us how you came to be here. How you got the gash of yours or how you knew to come here in the first place. You say you are here to help us with our gifts; that you know more about them than we do; that you are a teacher. Well I just don't see it. All you did today was gush over the daggers that I still don't understand, and go into convulsions of joy at the sight of some of our aids. You really haven't been any help at all. In fact you actually told me to stop the air! If you know so much our gifts, how come you didn't know that would happen? If your family has been training to teach the Guardians for centuries, how come you didn't know a way for me to do that without nearly killing every one? What exactly, do you know how to do? Because it seems to me you don't really know anything!"

Everyone was staring at her. Her hands were fisted at her sides as she glared at the obviously startled Alaster. Lynne was frowning, looking back and forth between her twin and him. Daniel was looking stonily at Alaster, waiting for his reply. Everyone else was clearly surprised at the small girl's outburst, but as what she had said registered, they too waited for his reply.

Alaster swallowed hard, then cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should sit down," he suggested. When no one moved he added, "this could take a while." No one spoke as they took their seats. There was no chair for Alaster, but he didn't seem to mind. He moved to stand in the center of the circle of chairs. The dannikits had all taken up residence in the laps of their companions, but none of them were whirring. It was as if they too were waiting for his reply.

Alaster faced Reggie. "What I have told you is the truth, but what you have said is also true. I have no practical knowledge of your gifts. Most of what I know is speculation on the part of my family members over the years, or theories of my own. I came here because I followed the Jamesons closely. When three of the five sisters are headed in the same direction, I take notice. There had also been signs, warnings in the past few months that the Gathering was going to happen soon. The Gathering of the Guardians. This has only happened twice in the thousands of years since the Shattering of the Sunstone. The movements of the Serpent were getting more dangerous. Three months ago, when he came once again to his full strength, I knew that I must find you all, because the first thing he would do, was go after the Shards."

"Then why didn't you go after the Shards as well, instead of their Guardians? You had three months," Harry interrupted.

"The Shards were well hidden, while you all were not. If the Serpent came here, where the most powerful of you were known to be… It was unthinkable." Alaster actually shuddered.

"He's been here before. Several times." Harry said. Rhia put her hand on his arm. Thankfully, he'd put away the lightning rods. He glanced at her then back at Alaster. "He is Voldemort, is he not?"

"Is that the name he goes by this time? Yes. That is him. You say he's been here before?" Alaster looked puzzled.

"You must not read the papers Raine. Harry Potter… the Boy-Who-Lived… He defeated Voldemort fourteen years ago as a baby… then again his first year here, then again second year, and again third in one form or another. He watched as Voldemort was reborn to his full strength last year," Rhia said coldly. "So yes he most certainly has been here before!"

Alaster stared at her, then turned his stunned gaze to Harry. "Oh dear."

Before he could start gushing over Harry, or getting them side-tracked, Reggie cleared her throat. "You were saying Alaster?"

With an obvious effort, Alaster pulled himself back to the topic at hand. "Yes… well… I followed Cora and Rose here. I stayed in Hogsmeade for a day before I decided to come to the school. I didn't want anyone to know I was coming here, until I arrived, so I went through the Forest."

"That wasn't very smart," Fred said.

"None of the creatures bothered me until yesterday morning, when I ran into a rather large black dog there at the edge of the Forest. He tried to stop me from coming here."

"Did you hurt it?" Hermione asked sharply, seeing that Harry was too startled to ask.


	13. Chapter 13

"No, he hurt me. Slashed at my chest then disappeared back into the trees, growling. It was odd behavior for an animal, I realize that now. Once I'd patched myself up I made my way here. The rest you know." Alaster finished.

"But that still doesn't explain why you don't seem to really [I] know [/I] anything," Daniel said.

"I know plenty, young Emmortal. Your line like only a few others came down from your fathers side, and thus the surname has not changed," Alaster gave a little smile. "Or only a bit. For they were once known as the Immortals. For the line never faltered or died out. There were always many healthy children and they had many more. They had long lives as well. Is it not true that your great-great grandfather is still alive and kicking around at nearly one hundred and six?" 

Daniel and his sisters gaped. Alaster went on. "I know the family history of every one of you. Some more than others, that's true, but only because the powers of some were more easily hidden."

Suddenly Starlight leaped into the room, a black streak. She yowled, startling them and then turned and stared at the doorway. A second later, Cora bustled through. "Blessed Hell that's tricky. Almost didn't think I'd make it inside." Her eyes lit on Alaster and she frowned. "Oh. You're here."

"Make yourself comfortable Cora," Rose said. "Raine here," She motioned her head to Alaster. "was just about to explain what he knows about us all." Her tone was wary and waiting.

"I see. That's good, as that's exactly what I came here to find out." Cora said. With a casual ease, she sat on the floor, tailor fashion, directly in front of Alaster. "We didn't get to discuss it previously, due to unfortunate interruptions of a Potion Master sort."

"That's what started the discussion for us actually," George said. "Snape's been meeting a woman outside this room, and giving her information about us. He," meaning Alaster, "has an idea who she is, and apparently she's someone he wasn't expecting to find here."

"I see," Cora hummed a moment under her breath then said, "Well don't let me stop you Mister Alaster Raine. Please continue." She fastened her blue eyes to his face and waited. So did the fifteen other people in the room. Alaster cleared his throat, frowned at himself and began again.

"As I said, some of your powers were more easily hidden. Like," he thought for a moment. "Neville's gift with growing things." He smiled, proud that he'd managed to use the correct name. "That's a common enough gift to go reasonably unnoticed over the centuries. Except when it gets out of control of course." They all looked at him, mystified. He frowned. "Jack and the Beanstalk… the fairy tale. One of your ancestors had a hand in that one. I told you already, Muggles aren't all as blind or as stupid as some wizards seem to think. That actually happened. Course there wasn't really a giant in the clouds… I don't think. I mean that'd be,"

"Alaster, you're rambling." Cora said, in her Professor Jameson voice.

Alaster came back to the room with an almost audible thud from where ever he'd been. Making Ron and Harry smile. Hermione had done the same thing from time to time. He blinked owlishly at her down on the floor for a moment before picking up where he'd gotten side tracked. "Ginny's is also easy to hide as magic. The women with your gift were merely talked of as having an affinity for animals, often they were caregivers, and in these more modern times, veterinarians. Of course, being witches, there was more often than not a bit of a potion mixed into the medications they prescribed." He smiled at Ginny. "I'm personally convinced that the man who wrote about a Dr. Dolittle met one of your ancestress and made the character a man because of societies rules." He beamed at a shocked Ginny.

"Alaster." Cora said again, in her Professor voice.

This time he barely paused before going on. "Others, like Rose's are harder to hide." He glanced at the girl in question. "Someone who throws fireballs about is bound to be noticed." He smiled then. "It was always devilishly hard to clean up afterwards. Granted most of your predecessors managed to hold their tempers most of the time, but they wouldn't have the true gift if it didn't get away from them every once in a while. And when it did, Raines cleaned up. For there was not always a Ministry of Magic around for memory wipes or abuse of magic laws. Even now that there is, we still tried to handle your family ourselves, as your gifts were rather unusual." He looked at Rhia then, an eyebrow raised in silent question, but she said nothing.

"We took care of the Emmortal sisters as well. For they are always sisters and most often twins. And have been responsible for some mighty storms in days past. The powers of Wind and Water are not altogether pleasant when angered." He turned to Ana then. "Only two times in the past, during a Gathering of the Guardians, have your ancestors ever been angry enough to lose control. And I for one am grateful for that. The power of the Earth is even harder to hide than that of Fire." He very nearly shuddered then and Ana looked worried. Daniel flashed a smile at her.

"And what of us?" Daniel asked. "Fred, George, Ron and I? We have no monumental powers." He gave a wicked grin. "At least none I'm aware of."

"Ah but you do. You were always fascinating warriors. My father used to tell me tales of your deeds…" Alaster smiled ruefully, "I'm ashamed to say that I sometimes wished to have been of your lineage, rather than my own. For yours didn't have to be wary of glory, or hidden in the shadows. I'm fairly sure Lancelot, the true one, was a relative of yours, and Finn MacCumhail of the Fianna is a sure bet as well." At Ron's startled glance at his brilliantly red dannikit, Alaster added. "The Fianna were the famed warriors of Ireland, and Finn the most famous of all." This time, before Cora could drag him back the present, he brought himself. "But that's not really important."

"Of course it is. But if you don't get to the rest of them soon, you're going to have a bunch of starving Shard Guardians on your hands Raine. It's nearly supper." Cora said.

"Perhaps we should wait then," Alaster said.

"If you stop there, skipping five of us, you'll have more than starving Guardians on your hands, they'll be furious as well." Monica said.

Alaster grinned. "Your family Miss Reed was one of the hardest to follow, for it jumped around and vanished many a time. In fact I thought it had faded from the world a century or two ago. All it did was move to America."

"And what's wrong with that?" Monica asked, her violet eyes looking a bit dangerous.

The many staunch Brits in the room managed not to comment. Alaster's grin wobbled. Draco finally managed to say, "Nothing I'm sure." His tone seemed to mollify her, though it had also rendered Harry and the Weasleys into gaping fish. They stared at him, and Harry thought dizzily that this… former… snob had previously held American witches and wizards only slightly above Muggles on the social scale.

"Anyway, your ancestress were probably making brilliant healers and doctors while we thought them lost. It was another gift easily hidden." Alaster told her. Then he turned to Draco and his eyes grew shadowed. "Your ancestors were easy to follow, for except in the generations where a Gathering was needed, they were… closely associated with the Serpent. And [I] He[/I] was never one for hiding." Draco's eyes went cold and Alaster went on. "The two times a full Gathering has come to pass, your true name has crept out in the family. And so your name is that of your Atlantean ancestor. The one who carries the name of the Dragon is a Guardian. Regardless of his own past, or that of his family." 

Heedless of the turmoil he left after a remark like that, Alaster turned back to Hermione. "Your gift Hermione was once common enough that your ancestress needed little protection. Then the world changed and smart women were ridiculed, and hidden. Even as it was debated in some circles whether or not they even had souls, these women worked to hide themselves, and make sure that your gift, a thirst for knowledge, did not die. Not only do you thirst for learning, but everything you learn you keep. A talent learned is never lost with you." He smiled at the stunned expression on her face. Then turned his attention to Rhia and Harry.

To Rhia he said, "Your gift is a mystery to me. All I know of it is that you hide it well, for not a single member of my family has ever known it. In all the centuries we've guarded the Guardians, only one thing is known of you. As you know it already, I won't say it here." He looked at Harry for a silent moment. "You, were easier to follow than some, harder than others. Your gift varies with the times. Sometimes the rods are needed, sometimes not. They are an instrument of control. Without them your power, at full strength, is deadly to you and to others. It seems, since they have come to you during this Gathering, that you will need them. That in turn means that this time you are very important. You have already met and defeated the Serpent four times. And this means that you are the heart of this whole affair. Again."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Harry asked, his mind perfectly blank of all thought. It merely waited, as they all did.

"It means… that we have a LOT of training to do. And we must all have nourishment and rest to do it. So let's go to supper." Alaster said finally.

He started out of the circle and nearly fell on his face after tripping over Starlight. She'd purposely blocked his step. He tried to step over her and got a foot long scratch on his calf for the trouble. "I don't think you're going anywhere Alaster," Cora said. "You can't just stop like that. It's rude."

"She's right. You can't tell a guy he's the heart of something that spans centuries and then expect him to calmly go and eat his dinner," Ron exclaimed. Harry was staring at Alaster, green eyes wide.

Alaster sighed. "Not centuries. Millennia." He turned back to Harry after Starlight gave him a warning hiss.

"What?" Ana asked.

"The Shard you wear Harry, is the heart of the Sunstone. When the Serpent has become aware of that fact in the past, Gatherings of the Guardians were needed to protect it and you. The other Shards are powerful, but if yours falls into his hands, the whole of it will turn evil. For the Sunstone was only as good as those who Guarded it. And it's heart… the heart is what turns it. Just as our hearts drive us to Good or to Evil." Alaster paused.

"That's why Lianna Shattered the Sunstone, to get the Heart away from the Serpent." Rhia said softly. "With the Shattering, Atlantis was lost, but without it, the world would have been lost."

"She knew the cost. As did all who followed her. The other Guardians, Your ancestors." Alaster said.

"But then, how did the Heart get to Harry's Ancestor? Why didn't it stay with Lianna? And how is it that Her five daughters weren't even born until after the Shattering, but two of the Guardians come from her? And why aren't the other sisters Guardians as well? For that matter, why are some siblings Guardians and others are not? And why don't the father's lines seem to have any effect on the family at all?" Hermione asked in one breath.

"The bloodlines of the father's had effects, just not magical ones, unless of course the Ancestor was a man. Which is the case for every man in the room." Alaster answered her.

"But all the siblings? They have the same ancestor. How does that work?" Neville asked.

"Bloodlines have crossed at Gatherings past. Others were destroyed and alternates brought in, until the alternates were the primaries, or there were no alternates. The crosses meant that siblings would be born with Guardian gifts, or without them. This is true for the Weasley line, and for that of the Emmortals. The Jamesons were never crossed with any other and it never seemed to matter who they married. There are always five daughters. No more, no less, and no sons. One daughter with the Shard line on her right palm, always has the Fire in her. Rose. Another is the secret one, Rhia. The others support them in their tasks, themselves guardians of the Guardians, as I am. Though some are more open about it." He smiled at Cora, who nodded. "And others… others have to be hidden."

"Like Moira," Hermione said, "Who we haven't met, but who we know has been here."

"Who?" Draco asked. 

No one heard him because both Reggie and Lynne erupted with, "Who is the fifth sister then?"

"She is working, and that works keeps her from being here to help us." Cora said. Alaster caught her eye, questions evident on his face. After a moment, a light bulb seemed to flash behind his eyes and he nodded, then frowned down at the floor. Starlight had followed him around so that she was once again on the floor in front of him. He stared at her as Harry spoke.

"But in the painting, there was no one at the Spire but Lianna at the end. Where did there rest of us come from?" Harry asked. "It doesn't make sense to me that I have the Heart when Lianna carried the burden."

"Painting?" Alaster asked, looking up hurriedly. "What painting?"

"The one in Dumbledore's office of the Fall of Atlantis. It's like watching a film of the events." Reggie said.

"It actually exists?" Alaster asked. He looked amazed.

"Now don't start that again Raine, " Rose exclaimed.

"I never saw such a painting." Draco said.

"Neither did I," Monica added. 

"Rhia didn't see it either. None of them were Guardians then." Harry said.

"We'll get it from Dumbledore tomorrow then. If it is what I think it is, we'll need to see it several more times, and from several different angles before I can explain everything. Including how Barak, I mean Harry, ended up with the Heart of the Sunstone. But that really does have to wait until tomorrow. It takes careful phrasing and I'm going to need the night to get it right. Now, can we please go to supper? We're late already and if someone happens to notice that all of us are together so much, the information could get to the wrong ears." Alaster said to the room at large.

"Though my curiosity is not wholly satisfied, I suppose you're right," Rose said. "We'll leave scattered. It wouldn't do for the 17 of us to pop through a window into the hall all at once."

Cora stood up. "That's a fine idea. Alaster and I will go first. I need to speak with him about a class schedule. And we need lesson plans. We'll see you at dinner." She took a surprised Alaster by the hand before he could say a word and headed for the door. As she stepped through it she called back, "Rose and Rhia, I'll be wanting to talk to you later this evening." Then she pulled Alaster after her.

"That was odd," Rose said.

"After all that information that just got flooded at us, that was what you found odd?" Fred asked.

Rose looked at Rhia. They both had the same slightly puzzled expression in their eyes. "You have no idea how odd that was." Rose said. She shook her head slightly, then added, "All right next pair out the door."

Erian gave a yowl and climbed from Ginny's lap to her shoulder. From his perch, he trilled down to Andra, who with a lazy stretch, made her way to Neville's shoulder. "I guess we're next," Ginny said with a grin. She stood up, sent one complicated glance to her three brothers and headed for the door. A slightly nervous Neville followed her, as he was getting three steely blue glares at the back of his head. 

"I'm not sure how I feel about that…" Ron said.

"You don't feel a thing Ron, because there's nothing wrong. Let's go. I want to stop at the library on the way to supper. I've got a few books I want a glance at," Hermione pulled Ron out of his seat and towards the door.

He sent a beleaguered look to Harry, who shrugged. Ron dug in his heels before they went through the door. "You're not really going to make us miss the first course of supper are you?" He asked Hermione plaintively. She smiled, but didn't say a word as she pulled him through.

"That would be an interesting argument to watch," Fred said to no one in particular.

"Yes, trying to separate Hermione and books, or Ron and food…" George added.

"They'll probably yell and bicker all the way down the hall," Fred guessed.

"More likely, they'll argue all the way to the Library," George said, "Where she'll manage to get one book before Madame Pince boots them both out for being too loud."

"Then they'll argue about who's fault is was that they got into trouble all the way to the Great Hall," Fred said.

"Where they'll sit in a huff for a few minutes, while Ron fills his plate and Hermione skims her book." 

"And finally, he'll grin and offer her something from his plate, which she could just as easily have gotten herself, she smiles, takes what ever it is and the argument is over and all's forgiven." George finished, grinning at them all.

"Done this before have they?" Monica asked.

"Only enough times to keep the memories fresh," Fred said with a grin of his own.

Rose looked at the twins, then at the door. "Okay, I have to see if you're right. I'm going. Remember, leave scattered, no big groups." She stood up, scooped up Vestan into her arms and started for the door. 

"We'll go with you," George said. "To see if we're right." Fred gave his brother a surprised look, but he followed as Rose and then George went out the door.

"Are they all acting as strangely as I think they're acting?" Ana asked, "Or is it just because I don't know them that well?"

"I think it might be a little of both," Harry said. He still had a smile on his face from the twins' perfect description of his two best friends.

~

"So who's next?" Rhia asked. Reggie and Lynne stood up and stepped toward the door. Neither of them said a word. Both looked tired and thoughtful.

"I hope they're all right," Ana said.

"They'll be fine," Daniel said. "Just the same, I'd like to leave next. I want to keep an eye on them at dinner."

"I'll go with you." Ana stood up, Segan curled in her arms. "We'll just keep with the pairings."

"Good idea," Daniel said, draping Phantom over his shoulder. "See you all at dinner."

Then it was just Draco, Monica, Rhia and Harry left behind. Monica looked at Rhia, then at Draco. "Rhia, would you walk with me? I've got a few questions…" Monica asked.

Rhia blinked and glanced over at Harry. "Uh… Sure Monica. Let's go then." The two lovely ladies swept from the room, leaving Draco and Harry alone. They exchanged uncharitable glares.

"Look Malfoy, I don't want," Harry started.

"Thank you," Draco interrupted.

"You're welcome. Why are you thanking me?" Harry asked.

"Because you could have told Monica the real reason I don't have a dannikit. But you didn't." Draco said.

"Consider that the favor I owed you." Harry said after a moment.

"Right. We're even then." Draco stated.

"Right." Harry responded. Kali'na waved a paw at Draco. "You go first. It wouldn't do for the two of us to be seen leaving a room together."

"No. It wouldn't." Draco said, with a slight smirk.

In perfect accord since the first time they met, Harry smirked back. As soon as Draco was out the door, Harry shook his head dazedly. "At this rate we'll be friends before the first Quidditch match," He told Kali'na as he waited.

***

Outside the classroom, Draco was staring at a door. He'd gone a little beyond the window into the Guardian Room. And was now looking at a particular… familiar looking closet door. It was slightly ajar. He stepped closer to it. And heard the unmistakable sound of a purring cat coming closer. He froze. Sure enough, Filch's voice soon followed, calling to Mrs. Norris. He had only a few seconds to decide. He pulled his Slytherin tie off his neck and tossed it through the window, then dived for the closet door. He pulled it all the way shut behind him and listened.

The shuffling footsteps of Mr. Filch were joined by the faint sound of breathing. Except… that breathing was coming from his side of the door. Two fingers suddenly covered his lips to keep him from talking. Draco smelled lilacs. As Filch muttered to his cat about students hiding in the hallways during meals, Draco stretched out his hand to touch a face that was really quite close to his own. Filch's voice and footsteps faded as he went on down the hallway.

The two fingers on his lips disappeared and two hands moved to either of his shoulders. "I knew we'd get that broom handle in the right place," Monica whispered.

"What?" Draco whispered back.

"The broom handle you've got for a spine is back where it belongs. In a broom closet," Monica answered softly.

"I see," Draco murmured. The smell of lilacs was stronger as Monica moved closer.

"Actually, it's doubtful you can see anything considering how dark it is in here," she whispered.

"Hmmm…" Draco responded. He leaned in and kissed her, there in the dark broom closet.

***

Harry was just about to step through the door when a Slytherin tie smacked him in the face. "What the…?" He picked it up from the ground. "Why would Draco…" Starlight growled softly at his feet. She was staring out the door. Harry couldn't see anything, but that was normal. "Okay… must be someone I don't want to meet out there." He looked back at the cat. "You don't know me, so you don't know how strange it is that I'm trusting Malfoy's rather vague signal. Then again, you're a cat." He shook his head and Kali'na trilled from her perch there. "I wonder how long I should wait?" Harry asked her. Neither the dannikit nor the cat replied. Harry pulled his shard out from under his shirt to look at it. It had become a deep green color that matched Kali'na's eyes, and he supposed his own as well. "They must change to match the eyes of the Guardian." Kali'na trilled again. Harry looked up in time to see a big gray dog step into the room. "What the…"

The dog looked at him a moment, there was a flash of light and Rhia stood in front of him. "Would you mind not thinking about that dog quite so hard Harry? I had to hide from Filch and the only thing I could turn into was that dog, you were thinking about him so hard." She told him. "I'd love to know why that dog is so important to you."

"Just a… friend I have. Did you say you had to hide from Filch?" Harry asked her.

"Yeah. He and that demon cat of his were strolling around in the hall for quite a while. Do you have any idea how hard it is to stand perfectly still, in dog form, while a cat sniffs your feet?" Rhia asked with a grin.

Harry laughed. "Can't say I do."

"It's very difficult. Those whiskers of hers tickle." Rhia added. They both laughed then.


	14. Chapter 14

~~~~@ A/N @~~~~

Thank you all so much for the reviews! Zombiewolf, you've stuck by my story even when I went months without updating and I thank you for it. Now here's some more for you!

@~~~~ A/N ~~~~@ 

"I'm surprised she didn't catch you then. She almost caught me once just by smell. There was no way she could see me." Harry said. Then he very nearly cursed. Now she was going to ask why the cat couldn't see him.

"Oh, she meowed at me, but Filch had heard something further down the hall, so he took no notice of her reaction to what looked like a statue of a Grim." Rhia answered. "Why's Starlight still here?"

Harry breathed a faint sigh of relief. He wasn't quite ready to tell her about all his exploits with his father's invisibility cloak. "I don't know. She just wanted to stay with me I guess," he said. Rhia knelt down and petted the cat. They shared a very feline look. The cat stood, picked up the tie in her mouth and without a backward glance was out the door. "I hope she gets that back to Draco."

"Why was Draco's tie in here anyway?" Rhia asked.

"Well… I think he was warning me about Filch. If he hadn't thrown that back in here after he left, I probably would have stepped into the hall right in front of Mrs. Norris." Harry said.

"Ahh… Harry, I have a request." Rhia said softly.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Would you…" she took a deep breath. "Would you go for a walk around the lake with me after dinner?"

"Of course," he smiled. "Though we had better get to dinner first, hadn't we?"

She smiled back. "Yes." He took her hand and held it. They stepped out into the hallway together and immediately headed for the Great Hall.

Neither one of them saw the Slytherin tie hanging on the doorknob of the closet door. If they had, they might have wondered how it got there. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a slightly disheveled Draco and a comfortably mussed Monica. Anyone seeing Draco in such a state of disarray would have been shocked. He actually had a few hairs out of place. Not only that, but his tie was missing and the top two buttons of his shirt… missing… as well. If Monica had been seen in the Great Hall just as she was, there would have been a riot among the male population of Hogwarts. In the dim torchlight of the hallway, Draco just stared at her.

Flustered she asked, "What? Do I have something in my hair?"

He shook his head. "No," he paused for a long moment. "You might want to make yourself a bit more presentable before we go to dinner, however. Not that you don't look lovely like that, but it's probably not appropriate."

Monica blinked at him before realizing that her hair was out of its braid, her shirt untucked on one side and her robes askew. She straightened her robes and was working on her hair as she gave him a once over. "You'd turn a few heads yourself Mr. Malfoy." She reached up and smoothed his hair. "Why do you wear it slicked back like that? It makes you look just a bit… mean." 

He managed not to flinch… barely, at her last sentence. "I always have," he told her as he looked around for his tie, before he remembered where he'd tossed it. He looked towards the window, but figured Potter would be gone by now. "Now, how am I going to get my tie back without getting someone suspicious?" he muttered.

"You mean this tie?" Monica asked as she pulled it off the knob. "How'd it get there and why would anyone be suspicious of you getting it back?"

He took the offered tie and fastened it around his neck as he explained. "I threw it into the room to warn… Harry about Filch. He must have put it on the knob when he came out."

Monica started to blush. "How… how do you think he knew we were in there?"

Draco smirked and said, "It's the only plausible hiding place in this whole hallway." But still he was asking himself the same question. There were numerous niches all along the walls…

"So Harry had your tie, and if you got it back from him, people would be suspicious. Why?" Monica asked as they started for the stairs.

"Because Harry and I haven't exactly been… friends." Draco said. He almost laughed at himself. They'd been hard-core enemies up until just six days before. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her that. Wow… only six days… and his entire life had changed. "If I start acting chummy with him now, then it could screw things up for all of us."

"Oh right. Your family… I understand." Monica said.

"Yes. My family." He wondered suddenly what his father would do if he ever found out that his son held one of the most powerful talismans in the world, and was using it against him. He wondered what he was going to have to do… and if he could do it. He was glad when they finally entered the Great Hall. Since it was a Saturday night dinner, the meal was casual and the conversation boisterous. Consequently, the dannikits were wilder than ever. He regretted his actions the day the kits were distributed, even as he watched one knock an entire platter of pudding over onto two Hufflepuff First years.

As he and Monica headed to the Slytherin table, Monica nodded her head in the direction of the other Guardians. They were all at the Hufflepuff table, as far away from the Slytherin's as possible. Yet as soon as they passed by, Rose got up and headed in their direction. Ana joined them as well, with a reluctant and scowling Daniel right behind her. It was the first time one of the boys had gone to the Slytherin table. And he wasn't just a Ravenclaw, he was a Beater on the house team, one that had managed to slam the Bludgers into every one of the current team members that were seated at the table, Draco included. 

Draco and Monica sat on one side of the table, while Rose and Ana flanked Daniel on the other side. This was more to avoid a fight than for protection. Dinner was a tense affair. Draco had to spend the whole time sneering at Daniel. He was unable to make any snide remarks about Ravenclaws however, since he was dating one. This penetrated the feeble brains of most of his housemates after the first person to make a remark was met with an icy glare from Draco, a fiery green one from Rose, A dark look from Ana, and a violent purple one from Monica. As for Daniel… he spent the meal fastened to the bench by Invisible Spell- o-Tape that Rose and Ana had used on him. He wasn't happy about it either. He glared instead at the roast beef on his plate. 

The Guardian Dannikits that found themselves at the Slytherin table were quite confident. Anytime one of the offending persons got within a paw's length, they found themselves on the receiving end of seven needle sharp claws. After the crack about Ravenclaws, both Segan and Phantom started growling. It was strange, as it sounded close enough to the thunder of their mother to make the Slytherins a little nervous. Vestan got them under control with an insistent trill. They returned to their own food dishes, but both tails were lashing the air.

Rose tried to distract Ana and Daniel by telling them that the twins had been absolutely right in their prediction of the actions of Ron and Hermione. Except for one small detail. When Ron had offered her the apple tart from his plate and she had accepted, he'd kissed her instead. This story made Ana smile but the leer she received from Goyle then made the smile fall away. Daniel stiffened next to her. He'd seen that leer, and he didn't like it one bit.

Back at the Hufflepuff table, the Emmortal twins were biting their lips nervously. Daniel was greatly outnumbered and they knew that that wouldn't matter if the Spell-o-Tape happened to give way. Before they could say a word of warning to the others, the Weasley brothers stood up as one. All three had their eyes riveted to Daniel and the others at the Slytherin table. Harry stood less than a second later. There was a hush in the hall. Strangely, none of the teachers moved. But Dumbledore was watching the proceedings closely. 

Draco was no fool. He saw the look in Daniel's eyes. He also saw the Weasleys and Harry stand up across the hall. He knew without a doubt that if they came over, then he was lost. He could bring that sneer to bear if he had to, but he doubted the Shard would allow him to say what was necessary to protect them all. Then he saw Rhia whisper something to Harry. Harry looked across the Hall and met his eyes for a split second. Green eyes narrowed and blue eyes grew cold as an idea formed. 

"So Ravenclaw, played any Quidditch lately?" he asked, his voice cold as ice. It was the first thing he'd ever said in that tone while in Monica's presence. She looked at him assessing.

Daniel glanced from the still leering Goyle to Draco. "Can't say I have Slytherin." Daniel replied, nearly as cold. He couldn't quite manage the same tone, as Draco had had much more practice.

"I hear we'll be beating you in a few weeks time." Draco said.

Daniel smiled viciously. "I'd heard that we'd be beating you. You lost your bully-boy Beaters this last year."

"Ah but we have a pair of fresh ones." Draco smiled icily. His eyes were frozen blue crystals. They gave Ana, who was getting only the reflected brunt of them, chills. 

Daniel's own blue eyes were hard. He now looked at the two hulks that were Crabbe and Goyle as if they were just of passing interest to him. "These two lumps? They'll be lucky to find the right end of the bat to hold."

"They can find it and use it right enough. Can you?" Draco taunted.

"You'll just have to see for yourself, won't you Slytherin?" Daniel shot back. He looked at Ana. "Finished?"

Ana cleared her throat to disguise the faint ripping sound that was the tape as it was removed. "Yes thank you Daniel. See you tomorrow Rose. Monica, I'll meet you in the Raven's Nest. Good night." She stood ignoring the Slytherin's completely. The two of them strode from the hall passing the Hufflepuff table and the still standing Weasleys on the way. If words were exchanged, no one heard them but the ones they were intended for. Harry had already left the hall, as had Rhia.

"I'd like to speak with you Draco. In private. Now." Monica said firmly, one small hand on his shoulder as she stood up. Draco gave a piercing and icy glare to Crabbe and Goyle before following her out of the Hall. This left Rose alone at the Slytherin table. It was only then that George walked over. Ignoring the tension at her dinner table, Rose merely looked up and smiled at him. He was frowning. 

"Hello George. Would you like to join me for dessert?" Rose asked sweetly. Her eyes were a furious green.

"No thank you Miss Jameson. Though I would like to talk to you about a lesson you listened in on." George replied.

"Of course George." She sent one last glare around the table and the two of them escaped over to the Hufflepuff table and the others. "Insufferable pigs!" Rose hissed as soon as they were out of earshot of the pigs in question.

"I thought we were trying to get the houses united or something," Neville said. "We can't call them pigs if we want them on our side."

"Besides, pigs are nicer," Ginny said. This succeeded in breaking their tension and bringing smiles to the faces of them all.

"That is the idea behind all this scrambling about isn't it?" Hermione asked. "Trying to get Hogwarts united?"

"That was the plan. But that was before I really knew what I was getting myself into. The rivalries between the houses are fierce. Gryffindor and Slytherin despise each other without a qualm. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw have very tense relations as well, some nonsense about Puffs versus Claws or some other rubbish. While the other three houses are at least starting to mingle, Slytherin stays apart. Not one of them has moved. I'd be willing to bet that the seating arrangements haven't changed since they started. First years are just supposed to fill in the gaps. And since all years sit together, that's not hard at all!" Rose ranted.

"Relax Rose, It's only been a week. Only God could change the world that quickly." George said with a grin. 

"And this is close enough to an entire world for it to be difficult. I mean you're trying to change a thousand years of history here," Ron said. 

"I suppose you're right. Have you seen my sister?" Rose asked.

"She and Harry left just as that little [I] discussion[/I] ended." Reggie said. "I think they were going outside."

"Oh that's right, for a walk around the lake," Rose said. "I hope she doesn't forget the meeting with Cora later."

***

Monica stalked out of the Great Hall, Draco behind her. They continued in silence until they reached an empty classroom. Then she turned to him and said, "Start talking. What the hell was that all about? You totally dissed my house. Not only that, but you were cruel to a fellow Guardian. I've never seen you like that before. I actually felt cold listening to you. So I repeat, What the hell?"

Draco stared at her. "What did you talk to Rhia about before?" he asked after a moment.

"That has nothing to do with this. I want an explanation." Monica said.

"You've known me three days," Draco said. She nodded. "And you expected to know me so quickly? I'm more complex than that."

"I didn't expect any of… of this... us… But what I really did not expect was that scene at dinner." Monica said.

"There is a past history here that goes beyond that scene at dinner," Draco said.

"We've got time. Tell me." Monica said.

Draco looked at her. She was watching him closely, violet eyes earnest. He smirked and laughed mockingly. "For starters, I hated Harry Potter…" 


	15. Chapter 15

***

Rhia and Harry strolled along the lakeshore in the quiet that came just after sunset. Neither spoke. They had left the hall as soon as they were sure that the impending fight had been avoided. "I hope everyone is all right." Rhia said into the silence.

"Nothing could have happened in the middle of the Great Hall with the entire school and faculty present," Harry told her. "Dumbledore was watching very carefully."

"Still, I'm glad Draco got that brilliant idea about Quidditch before you all stormed over there." Rhia said.

Harry looked over at her. The moonlight turned her eyes to pools of liquid silver. "That was strange. I was thinking that Quidditch would be a good excuse, and then he said it," Harry said quietly.

"Really? That's interesting," Rhia said, looking at him. He smiled and took her hand. He pulled the handkerchief bandage off and looked at the jagged line in her palm. He touched it with a fingertip and there was a blue spark between them, like that of static electricity from walking around in your socks on carpeted floors. When he would have released her, she moved her hand to take hold of his, and they continued around the lake. Comfortable silence enveloped them again.

They walked slowly, content just to be there together. It occurred to Harry that this was probably a very odd way for a newly acquainted couple to act. It seemed right though. Like they didn't need to talk, because they already knew all they needed to about one another. Rhia, on the other hand was in a silent battle with herself. She wanted to tell him the truth about herself, but she didn't want him to hate her. There was also the possibility that if she did tell him, he would no longer let her do her job. Her job to protect him.

"Blessed hell! Harry don't move," Rhia whispered frantically. She let go of his hand and stepped away from him. With a flash of light, she was the large gray dog again. And she was growling into the trees. Somehow, they had gone all the way around the lake to the side that met the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was these trees she was growling at. Harry was so startled by Rhia's actions that he froze. But only for a second. By the time she was the Rhia-Grim, he had his wand out and aimed at the Forest. Rhia snarled as a giant black dog slipped out of the forest and came to them.

"Oh. Snuffles," Harry exclaimed. "It's all right Rhia, it's only Snuffles." The Rhia-Grim kept her eyes fastened on Snuffles. Snuffles looked from Harry to Rhia and back again. Then with another flash of light Rhia was herself again. "You're going to have to do something to hide that flash of light that happens when you change."

"Only Guardians can see it," Rhia said. "So who's this?" She waved a hand at Snuffles, who was now staring at her, his mouth hanging open, tongue lolling out.

"This is my… dog Snuffles." Harry said. She might not react well to Sirius being free and alive. Since he was technically still a criminal. 

You've a dog that lives in the Forbidden Forest?" Rhia asked him, incredulous.

"Yes… and no. He only lives there sometimes," Harry said. He started scratching Snuffles behind the ears to get a more dog-like expression on his face.

"This is the dog Alaster surprised, isn't it? And the one Lavender saw during that Divination class. The one she thought was a Grim. Made her hysterical for two solid days." Rhia said.

"Unless there's another in there I don't know about, yes." Harry said.

"And that's why he's been on your mind lately. You were worried about him," Rhia said with a smile. "That's so cute." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, but even that made them both blink in shock. "I've got to head back to the castle. I've a meeting with my sisters. I'll see you in the morning." She patted Kali'na where the kit was perched on his shoulder and started to walk back to the school. She paused once to blow him a kiss, making him laugh and catch it. He heard her laughter until she was far away, then turned back to Snuffles.

Sirius stood there instead. "So that your new love interest?" he asked softly.

"Her name is Rhiannon Jameson and yes." Harry said.

"She's no regular Animagus. I know the change. What she did was different. Like she skipped some steps or something. That's dangerous." Sirius said.

"She's not a regular anything. She's a Guardian of the Shards of the Sunstone of Atlantis. As am I. Goodness that's a mouthful isn't it?' Harry muttered the remark.

"YOU"RE A WHAT?!?!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Hush! We may be far from the castle, but not that far. I'm a Guardian. So are thirteen other students. You know about the Shards?"

Of course I do, but Harry, if you are really a Guardian now, then that means that…" Sirius paused.

"What?"

"Oh for the love of all things pure! You've the damned heart stone. Which means your father had it, which means Voldemort knows, or he knew." Sirius started muttering under his breath and Harry couldn't understand a word. He was still reeling from the fact that his father had been a Guardian. Sirius looked back at him. "It must be a Gathering then." Harry nodded dazedly. "We've got to go to Dumbledore right away. Tell me the names of the others as we walk." He headed for the castle.

"Sirius you can't go looking like that." Harry said. He wasn't sure this was a good idea, but if Sirius knew something important, then Dumbledore should know what it was. Sirius stopped and turned back into Snuffles. They started walking again. Snuffles looked at Harry expectantly. "Oh right. Me, Hermione, Ron, the twins and Ginny, Neville, Daniel, Regina and Carolynne Emmortal, Antar Tasner, Rosemonde and Rhiannon Jameson, Monica Reed and Draco Malfoy." The last name brought Snuffles up short to stare at Harry, who nodded. "That's right. He's actually one of the good guys this time. Now hush, we've got to get you in without anyone seeing you, all the way to Dumbledore's office." Snuffles stopped and became Sirius again, glaring at Harry.

"Didn't you bring your cloak?" Sirius asked.

"I don't make a habit of carrying it around school Sirius." Harry said sarcastically.

"But I told you to, in my note. Didn't you get it?" Sirius asked.

"Oh. I forgot." Harry said, looking at the ground.

"Then what were you doing out here? You were right on time. Granted I didn't expect you to have a girl with you." Sirius stopped. "You forgot about the meeting, not just the cloak." He said it as a statement, rather than a question. Harry nodded. "Bloody hell. Harry this is not the time to be getting distracted by a pretty face."

"She's more than a pretty face." Harry said. As he did, he realized it was true.

"Really?" Sirius asked, surprised. Harry said nothing. Sirius looked at him closely, then was suddenly Snuffles again. Harry started towards the castle, a hand on Snuffle's neck. They crept into the castle, past the now closed doors of the Great Hall and headed for the faculty wing. Strangely, considering it was Saturday night, they didn't meet anyone. Not a teacher, a student, not even Filch. They reached the entrance to Dumbledore's office and Harry searched his mind for the password.

***

After leaving Harry and the large black dog, Rhia went straight to the castle. Once she was inside the front doors she became a slim gray cat. She flitted from shadow to shadow, silent, nearly invisible. Easily avoiding chattering students, hissing once at nosy Mrs. Norris. She was joined shortly by a black cat, just as slim. The black took the lead. They went to the faculty wing, pausing briefly in front of the Griffin that marked the stairway to Dumbledore's office. It opened and they leapt gracefully inside.

"Took you long enough," Cora said crossly. "I've been waiting for ten minutes. We only have the back room for an hour, so let's get in there." She looked at the two cats. "Well?"

Rhia was abruptly herself again. In a slower, more normal change, the black cat became a lovely young woman, with nearly straight hair, so black that it was almost blue, a single streak of purest white at her left temple. Her blue eyes twinkled merrily. "Stop being such a teacher Cora. I called this meeting. It couldn't very well start without me. Besides, I had to fetch Rhia. She didn't know where the meeting was occurring." 

"Yeah, where were you Rhia?" Cora asked as they stepped into Dumbledore's back room. The painting of Atlantis was still the centerpiece of the room, right now it was frozen at the height of the city's glory. 

"She was with Harry, walking around the lake," Rose said from a chair in front of the painting. "How'd you get away? You two were quite close as you were leaving."

Rhia sat down primly. "I left him at the lake with his dog."

"You left Harry Potter alone, outside the school, at night?" Cora demanded.

"He wasn't alone. He had this enormous black dog with him. Apparently it lives in the Forest sometimes." Rhia said. "Harry was only a fraction slower than I at reacting to the dog's presence. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Was this dog called Snuffles, by any chance?" asked the dark-haired woman.

"How'd you know that Moira?" Rhia asked.

"That's no ordinary dog." Moira said positively.

"It looked pretty ordinary to me," Rhia said.

"You look like an ordinary cat most of the time." Rose quipped. They all smiled a bit at Rhia's disgruntled expression.

"Then who is the dog?" Cora asked, turning back to Moira.

"If I'm not mistaken, Sirius Black is an unregistered canine Animagi." Moira said softly.

"Black? But that's a good thing. Isn't it?" Rose asked. "Wasn't he a powerful ally of ours before the rat fooled the world into imprisoning him?" She gave Moira a hard look. "Of course how should I know? You never tell me anything."

"I made a mistake, and I'm sorry Rose. You can gripe at me about it later. We must move quickly now. Yes Black was an ally of ours. If he is truly back, then it is a very good thing… if he knows as much about our cause as Mother thought he did. If that dog really is him, then we may be getting that strength back. Strength that may turn the tide." Moira answered.

"Does the tide need turning already?" Rhia asked softly. She stared at Moira.

Moira looked serious. "It has begun. He searches for them. He is not yet aware that they are all here. Thus he searches frantically. And viciously." Moira said. "His Death Eaters tried for the Diggorys two nights ago, but they had already been moved."

"But he'd already killed Cedric, why go after his parents?" Rose asked.

"Because they still carry the blood of Dianor," Moira answered. " Though He needs no reason for cruelty."

"That explains why he destroyed all the Barak line, but for the Potters." Rhia said.

"Good thing too, as they were the ones that actually protected the Heartstone. Does Harry have it now?" Moira asked.

"You know he does." Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"I do. I was just seeing if you had figured it out yet. Since you have, we can move on to the newcomer," Moira started. "The one who knows so much about us."

Rhia stood up. "That's Alaster Raine, as you well know Moira. You know, for a Seer, you seem to be a bit blank on facts that are right in front of your face."

Moira raised one finely arched eyebrow at her sister. "For your information, I wasn't talking about him. I was talking about the woman Snape is feeding information to. What do you know about her?" She stared at Rhia, until the girl sat down again.

"Not much, unfortunately." Cora said, slipping into the quiet caused by Rhia's outburst with practiced ease. Since she'd been doing it all their lives, she'd had quite a bit of practice. "She's irritated with him at the moment because he keeps summoning her here, disregarding her other work, whatever that is. He calls her My Lady, as if she were noble, or a woman of considerable power, which makes sense, as she seems to get into the school and out of it with no trouble. A task which should be of enormous difficulty to most anyone. Especially now that Dumbledore's increased security."

"He's increased security?" Rose asked. "How do you know?"

"Faculty meetings Rose. It doesn't matter. What matters is this woman, and the fact that Snape is giving her information, and who she is giving that information to." Cora finished.

"At the moment she's giving it to me." Moira said with a bit of a smile.

"What?" Rhia exclaimed. "Why do you need information? You're one of us."

"She gives me his information, I… modify it a bit, then I give it back to her, to give to a certain rat." Moira's blue eyes glinted with anger, before she blinked to clear them. "Then I assume he gives it to the Serpent, thus throwing him off for a little longer." She watched them for a reaction, but all they could do was stare.

Rose snapped her fingers, "So that's where Shannon's been for the past eighteen months." She smiled at Moira, then frowned at her fingers, where a flame flickered. With a sigh, she blew out the flame. "I really need to get a handle on that."

"Yes that's where she's been and it would behoove you all not to blow her cover." Moira said firmly.

"Like we'd do anything to endanger our own sister," Rhia snapped, still a bit out of sorts.

"You might do it by accident. You especially, being distracted as you are by a certain green-eyed fellow." Cora suggested.

"I'm not [I] that[/I] distracted by him. I'm just doing my job." Rhia said with a sniff. "The one you assigned to me when I was eight years old."

"Yes, but now it has gone beyond that, hasn't it? You were walking with him by the lake at night. That's moving fast, isn't it?" Moira asked.

Rhia stared at her. "Oh that's right. I was to watch him, but not help him. Watch him, but not interact in any way. You have no idea how awful it was for him with those monsters who happen to be his relatives. The only time he wasn't being mistreated was when he was with me at Mrs. Figg's house. Even then, she couldn't be kind or the Dursleys wouldn't let him over. And I was just one of her many cats. Then you tell me to protect him. So finally, finally I'm able to do some things to help him, but even then they were small inconsequential things. There was no way to protect him from his family, or even the bullies at the muggle school. I could only protect him from magical things. And that happened very rarely. Until a year after that when he goes to Hogwarts and I go to Salem Academy. Then he gets in trouble. Four years in a row this happened. I keep an eye on him during the summer, then he goes to school and gets attacked, nearly killed. Of course the episode with the house elf, and the Knight Bus and all that I couldn't do anything about, because there wasn't anything to protect him from, not by your standards anyway. I can't believe you all. You keep judging my actions, and when I feel guilty about them, you just tell me it's my job. I bloody well know it is. It always has been. Moira you've got your Sight and you act all high and in charge all the time but you really don't know any more than the rest of us about any of this. Cora, you were able to just go to school and get your teaching license. You're normal, or as normal as a witch can be. Neither one of you have some secret prophecy in your head and heart that sings through your dreams." Rhia's voice broke and she started to cry.

"Rhia…" Moira started. Rose shook her head as she stood and went to her little sister.

Rose put an arm around Rhia. "Hey Sunshine, you forgot to rant about me," Rose whispered softly. "I can't believe you missed the opportunity. I'm the one who threw fireballs at you when we were little, remember?"

Rhia said tearfully, "You've got a temper on you. I didn't want my hair singed." This made them all smile, just a little.

"I'm so sorry Rhia, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just teasing you." Cora said. She went to her and hugged her from the other side. She was crying too.

Moira stared at them for a moment, her face stricken. "Oh Blessed Hell," Rhia exclaimed. She waved an arm at Moira. Then they were all hugging and crying in the back room of Dumbledore's office. 


	16. Chapter 16

@~~~~A/N~~~~@ 

This is new stuff. Thanks to Larthis and my other readers for pointing out the missing bits. I'm very sorry! In the transfer from ne file to another to fanfiction… a section got lost but, it's back now! I hope this helps if you were confused!

@~~~~A/N~~~~@ 

"I'm so glad you've figured that out ladies," Dumbledore said from the doorway. "Since I was just about to ask you that question." 

The four sisters started wiping their eyes and sniffing, trying to make themselves presentable. Rhia pulled Harry's handkerchief out of her pocket and used it to wipe her eyes. When she lowered it, there he stood, directly in front of her. "Harry!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I'm here to talk to Professor Dumbledore. What's going on?" Harry asked, looking at Moira questioningly.

"I told you I had a meeting with my sisters. Remember?" Rhia said, trying to figure out how much he might have heard. 

"Blessed hell…" Moira said softly. Her face had gone dead white and her eyes were fastened on Snuffles.

"Oh… uh… don't worry about him ma'am. He's very well behaved," Harry said, thinking she was afraid of him. He did resemble a Grim, and a large one at that. 

"I… I think I have to sit down," Moira said. She sat in one of the chairs, but her gaze never moved from Snuffles. He tilted his head to the side and stared right back.

"Professor, what did you mean when you said you were about to ask us the same question?" Rose asked.

***END NEW STUFF***

Dumbledore smiled. "I was referring to the fact that Lianna sent the Heartstone to Barak years after Atlantis fell. Professor Jameson mentioned a reason…" He trailed off and looked at Cora encouragingly.

"Oh I was just saying that it was probably because our family was too emotional. What with there being five daughters, all of them witches, and the discouraging reaction of her husband to that fact." Cora said.

"You mean his rage at the fact that just one of the women in his family was more powerful than he could ever be? Or the fact that Lianna was busy with the Shards instead of him?" Rose asked rhetorically, her tone strangely bitter.

"So she sent the Heartstone to Barak, my ancestor?" Harry asked, looking at Rhia.

Snuffles woofed, gaining everyone's attention. He looked at Harry, and Harry looked back. Then both dog and boy looked at Dumbledore. The Headmasters eyes were twinkling merrily as he nodded. Moira stood up suddenly, staring even more intently at Snuffles. Then he wasn't Snuffles anymore, but Sirius. "Hello Moira," he said. She sat down again with a thud. The other sisters were staring at him with a mixture of awe and hope on their faces.

Harry looked at them curiously before he said, "Well, I'd like you all to meet my godfather, Sirius"

"Black," Moira finished. "I was fourteen years old when I saw you last Sirius. You came to our house to see Mother."

"You've grown up since then little Fate. Harry didn't tell me you were here," Sirius replied softly.

"That's because I have no idea who she is. I've never seen her before in my life. Sirius, we came to talk to the Headmaster, remember?" Harry said, confused. 

"Harry this is our oldest sister, Moira," Cora said. Moira glanced at him and smiled, but returned her full attention to Sirius.

"The one Hermione heard, but didn't see the other morning," Rose said.

"Oh. Nice to meet you ma'am. Sirius…" Harry prompted.

"Voldemort knew James had the Heartstone. And if he knew that, then he knows that Harry has it now." Sirius said, finally looking away from Dumbledore.

"Of course he knows. How else can you explain all the attempts on Harry's life up to now?" Rhia asked, indignant.

"Most of us thought it was because Harry lived after Voldemort tried to kill him," Sirius snapped at her, then looked at Harry with something like pride on his face. "Several times. Hasn't managed it yet though."

"Nor will he if we have anything to say about it." Rose said as Rhia spluttered at Sirius. "Not now Rhia."

"Oh, so we're going to wait until later, while more of the Serpent's spies slip into our midst, like that snake you told me about. We're going to wait until the Serpent knows that we are all here and comes to get what he thinks is his? We're going to wait until our full force is needed before we even talk about it?" Rhia exclaimed.

"YES!" Moira shouted. Once she had their attention she continued in a softer tone. "We are going to wait until the Guardians are fully prepared for their tasks. This does not mean that we are going to be doing nothing. Now I want all three of you to go to bed now. You will have a very intense training session tomorrow, because we cannot afford to waste time. I can guarantee that you will be too tired to go for walks by the lake after Alaster is through with you." She looked at Cora for conformation. The blonde woman nodded and smiled just a little fiendishly.

"But Sirius," Harry started.

"Is staying with me Harry." Dumbledore said. "Now go to your dormitory. The curfew is near at hand, you will have just enough time to get through the door I think." He looked at the odd clock on the wall and smiled. "Yes, just enough if you leave right now. The three of you; Rose, Rhia, and Harry." When they didn't move he raised an eyebrow. His eyes were twinkling, but they knew there could be no more argument.

"Yes Headmaster," they murmured in unison. Sirius gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze as he passed. He shared a measuring look with Rhia, and caught some green sparks from Rose.

Once outside the office, the three of them walked quickly down the hallways toward the Gryffindor Tower. As soon as they were in the Common Room, Rose turned to Harry. "I have one question and then I'll go to bed." Harry waited. "How does your godfather know my sister?"

"I have no idea. I've only known him for about two years myself. So I don't have an answer for you Rose. I'm as curious as you are." Harry said. 

Rose nodded and turned toward the tapestry that covered her own door. "Don't stay up too much longer. Remember what Moira said about our session tomorrow. Goodnight." And with that she was gone.

Harry looked at Rhia. "Shall we sit down?" Rhia asked him, pointing to the couch. Harry nodded.

"May I ask why you were crying when we came into the back room?" Harry asked.

"We're sisters. We squabble, then cry and make up all the time. We're a very emotional family." Rhia said. She wasn't lying. Everything she told him was perfectly true. It just didn't answer his question. But he let it slide and she was glad. They slipped into another of their comfortable silences even as Harry slipped his hand around hers.

***

It was the deepest part of the night when the horse and rider appeared next to his hiding place. "The Lady Lia sends you this message." The rider said, slightly out of breath. A roll of parchment and a small bundle are dropped into his waiting palm. "I'm to tell you only that now you will know what to do." And with that, the rider disappeared into the darkness with the thunder of hooves. There was an answering rumble from the blackness beside him and two slitted eyes appeared at the level of his waist.

"No Atalia. He was only the messenger," he told the black Agoradan softly. "Let's see what Lia has sent us." He looked at his palm and with an electric sizzle, light crackled from fingertip to fingertip. He used this to read the scroll. When he finished he unwrapped the small package, careful to save the soft hide that was the wrapping. Such a thing would be valuable. Inside was a small rock, very ordinary in appearance. Except that it seemed to be glowing softly. He stared at it for a long time. Atalia trilled in question. He glanced over at her. "She's finally given it to me," he whispered in awe. "That Seer daughter of hers advised her to do it, but it amounts to the same thing. She's finally given me her Heart." A bolt went from his thumb to the parchment and began to burn it. He dropped it on the ground and walked away, clutching the rock in his hand. The Agoradan following behind.

The parchment burned but the greeting, "Dearest Barak" remained visible, until all was lost in smoke and ashes.

Harry woke up disoriented, blinking. He sat up, shaking his head to clear it, only to find that he wasn't in a strange forest, or even in his bed, but was lying on the couch in the quite dark Gryffindor Common Room. The fire had faded to embers in the grate. Someone had draped a blanket over him while he slept. Rhia was nowhere to be found. Ka'lina was curled on the arm of the couch, right next to where his head had been. He heard a noise somewhere near his feet and glanced down to find Shadow seated there, looking at him, her eyes reflecting the faint light from the fire back at him. As he stared at her, his memory of the dream faded. "Well I guess Rhia didn't want to wake me. I didn't mean to fall asleep you know," he whispered to the cat. She just blinked at him. "I'm explaining myself to a cat," Harry told himself. "And now I'm talking to myself. I really need to get to sleep. In my bed." Shaking his head, he scooped up Ka'lina and looked at Shadow again. "Are you coming?" In answer, she jumped off the couch and started for the stairs.

There was only moonlight from the windows to light his way through the dorm room, but he knew it so well that that didn't matter. He placed a faintly whirring, limp Ka'lina on his pillow just as Shadow leaped onto his bed. The velvet drapes of the other four beds were closed against the moonlight. Dean was snoring faintly and Neville was mumbling something in his sleep. In a very short time, Harry was nestled under the covers with his kit beside his head and Shadow at his feet. A few moments after that, he was asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

The sunrise was a particularly fiery one that Sunday morning. Light lanced through the air and right onto the sleeping face of Monica Reed. She was lying diagonally across her bed, still fully clothed. She opened her eyes, winced and threw an arm across her face to block the light. The other girls were all still asleep and she suspected they would stay that way for a couple hours more at least. She guessed that she'd only had about four hours of sleep. She had talked with Draco long into the night. Any sensible person would still be asleep. Of course, she wasn't being very sensible, at least not since she'd arrived at Hogwarts. She'd been here less than a week and had somehow managed to get herself connected with the Bad Boy of the school. Not that he seemed that way most of the time... at least with her. 

She rolled over to stare at the canopy above her head. He'd told her many things… horrible things really that he'd done and said in the past. When he'd finished, she had seen that he'd fully expected her to be disgusted and never want to speak to him again. Or maybe hex him first, then never speak to him again. She remembered his expression as she sat there and stared at him. He'd looked extremely nervous and sad after just five minutes. She'd been busily going over what he'd said in her mind. What he hadn't known was that her housemates had already filled her in on his misdeeds. Having him confirm them as truth decided her actions then. She'd smiled at him. 

The memory of his expression made her giggle out loud. He'd looked positively stunned. Then he'd scowled and those crystal blue eyes of his had narrowed. He'd asked her why she was laughing at him. She'd smiled and said, "Because you called it your past." He'd looked stunned again. Then she'd kissed him. She was still quite surprised at herself about that. She wasn't a shy girl in any sense of the word, but she'd been remarkably… forward with him. It was as if they had known each other before… though she had never been to England, and he had certainly never been to California. With a sigh, she sat up. That was a puzzle for another time. If she wanted the bathroom to herself, she'd better get moving. Even if she still suspected that none of the other girls would even stir for at least another hour.

Since she'd arrived, and a bed had been crammed into the room for her, she'd tried to stay out of everyone's way. So, to continue to do so, she got up and headed for the shower. An hour later, when she came back into the room freshly showered, clothed and generally ready for the day she ran smack into a sleepy Cho. Her sleep-mussed hair and thoroughly unpleasant glare combined to produce a rather unattractive sight. Still, Monica tried to be friendly. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry Cho, I didn't see you there," she exclaimed, though the incident had been as much Cho's fault as hers. She didn't like the girl, but if she wanted peace in her dorm room she had to appease her. "I'm very sorry."

"And well you should be," Cho snapped and swept into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Monica went to her trunk, grumbling under her breath about the indignities she was suffering just to safely get some sleep. She had the oddest feeling that if she angered Cho, something would happen. Something that no one would like, and especially not her. Before Cho returned, Monica went to the Raven's Nest, otherwise known as their Common Room. She waited there for Ana or the twins… either would do. She didn't want to go down to breakfast alone.

*

Ana and Daniel somehow managed to come down the stairs together. Which set Monica to thinking about what was going on with them… He was whispering something in her ear that had her blushing and smiling. Their dannikits were actually walking on their own this morning, rather than perched on shoulders or in their arms. As they got nearer, Monica could see why. They were now the size of fully grown house cats, though Segan was fluffy and Phantom short-haired. It was as if they had doubled in size overnight. "What the…?" Monica asked standing up and openly staring at the drastically changed kits.

Daniel grinned. "Yeah, it was quite a shock to wake up with such a heavy weight on my feet. He knelt down to give Phantom a pat. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"Yes of course," Monica said, still staring.

Ana smiled at Segan. "Apparently dannikits grow in spurts," she said.

"I'll say. In the eight hours I slept she doubled in size," Daniel said with a laugh.

"I wonder if the others did the same?" Ana asked.

"We're about to find out," Daniel answered her. "My sisters are coming."

Sure enough, when the twins came down the stairs their kits closely followed them. Ikarus and Anondir had also doubled in size. Both girls looked relieved to see that their kits weren't the only ones to have done so. "Let's hurry up and get to breakfast. I want to know if it's just our twelve or if it's all the kits." Lynne said as soon as she and Reggie joined them. So they headed for the Great Hall before anyone else even came down the stairs.

***

"Hagrid, look at him! He's doubled in size!" Rose exclaimed. "You didn't mention anything about this to me, or anyone else for that matter." She took a deep breath to calm herself. The apple cider in the glass she was holding had started to boil. The giant was staring at that glass. She narrowed her eyes at him as a hint of a smile creased his beard.

"I dinna tell ya, 'cuz I dinna know myself," Hagrid said. "I've never worked with Agoradans this young before. And they must grow some way ya know."

Rose sighed. "I know Hagrid. It's just a big surprise that's all." She leaned closer to him as students started coming into the Great Hall. "Is it all of them, or just ours?"

Hagrid looked past her. "All of 'em I'd say," he muttered. Rose whipped around to see Monica, Daniel, Ana, Reggie, Lynne and Chris Emmortal enter the hall. All of the kits were larger, Chris's obvious because of it's pale gray fur and rather kittenish antics. The four Guardian kits were much more decorous, though Phantom was batting at Misty's tail whenever it came into reach. Rose looked at Vestan. He was sitting statue-still on the high table. With a sigh and a shake of her head, Rose waved her hand towards the Hufflepuff table. The brilliantly colored Vestan was graceful in his leap to join the others as they sat down to breakfast. Rose smiled an irritated farewell to Hagrid and followed her kit. She was curious to see Monica with them, until she realized that with Draco still absent from the Hall, she wouldn't be sitting at the Slytherin table. After last night, Rose wondered if that even mattered anymore. With a smile she decided to wait and see.

***

"What the… Beauty! What happened to you?" Seamus' voice split the morning quiet of the Gryffindor Tower.

"Wha'?" Neville mumbled. 

"It's too early Seamus, go back to sleep," Dean said, his voice muffled by his pillow.

"Something's happened to Beauty! She's huge!" Seamus exclaimed.

"What are you talking about Seamus?" Harry asked, sitting up and pulling his draperies aside. This let the sunlight fall on the two cat-sized furballs on his bed. "Whoa! Kalona, you've grown!" Both Shadow and Ka'lina lifted their heads to look at him. Both the kit and the cat had the same expression on their faces. One that clearly said, 'Well what did you expect?'

After Harry's exclamation, the others woke up more fully and pulled aside their own drapes. 

"See? I told you. My Beauty's done it too. Do you think it's just that they grew overnight?" Seamus asked worriedly.

"I suppose that makes sense," Neville said, petting a whirring Andra from head to tail. He looked over at Ron. "Oy Ron, what's the matter?"

Ron was sitting up, red hair sticking out all over the place, almost as bad as Harry's. He was staring at Fianna, where she was curled asleep on his bed. She had grown, but was obviously smaller than the others. "Do you think it's Malfoy's fault?" Ron asked the room at large softly. He, Neville and Harry felt their Shards warm, but they weren't' zinged.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Seamus said. "As badly hurt as she was, there was bound to be some kind of damage."

"She's not damaged!" Ron yelled.

Seamus was immediately apologetic, but Ron ignored him. Instead he just scooped up his kit. She started whirring and nuzzled his neck. "I'm sure she's fine Ron," Harry said. "Maybe she's just supposed to be small."

"That's right, we don't know how big they are normally anyway," Neville said. "She might be the average, and ours are the giants." 

Shadow stood up just as Harry did the same. Giving him an odd look, the cat jumped from his bed to Ron's. She purred her comfort as she sat next to Ron and Fianna. The kit and the cat seemed to have some kind of conversation. Shadow meowed at Ron. Ka'lina immediately started whirring. Harry smiled. "Fianna's fine Ron," he told his friend. "She's just small."

"How do you know?" Dean asked Harry.

Harry frowned. "I'm not sure… Shadow and Ka'lina told me I guess."

"Talking to cats now, are we Harry?" Seamus asked with a grin.

"Hey, she talked to me," Harry said. He grinned despite the memories that brought of his second year.

"I'm for the shower," Neville said, grabbing a towel.

What followed was a race for the best of the five showers in the bathroom. The shedding of pajamas seemed to cause Shadow some distress where she sat next to Ron on the bed, because she tensed and her purring stopped until the other four were in the bathroom. Ron smiled down at the cat, whose eyes were tightly closed. "Don't worry about them girl," he said. Ron patted her on the head and stood up himself. "Look after Fianna for me, will you?" he asked her, placing the still sleepy kit on the bed next to the cat, before he headed for the bathroom himself. As soon as the door was shut, Shadow let out a yowl that startled Beauty into a panic pose. It took loud whirring form the other kits to calm her down again. Shadow took up a stiff guard at the end of Ron's bed. She kept one eye on the door and the other on Fianna.

Everyone else was nearly finished with his or her own breakfasts before Rhia hurried in. Her cheeks were flushed a lovely pink. When Harry smiled his greeting to her, she blushed more and barely managed a smile. A bit confused by her unfounded embarrassment, Harry took her hand and pulled her to sit on the bench beside him. "Good morning Rhia. Having a bit of a lie-in?" he asked softly as he handed her a slice of buttered toast. 

Rhia ducked her head and said, "Something like that."

"Has anyone seen Draco?" Monica asked suddenly. "I haven't seen him all morning." As one, they all looked to Draco's usual seat between the hulking lumps that were Crabbe and Goyle. The two Slytherins were looking a little lost and confused. "Where do you think he could be?" Monica asked. She was getting worried.

"I'm sure he's just sleeping in," Ginny said. "Like Rhia." 

Rhia looked up hurriedly at Ginny, eyes wide. Then she started laughing. She laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach. Just as quickly, she sobered. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what was so funny."

Blue swirled in Rose's eyes as she looked at her sister. Then Alaster approached from the Head Table. The blue faded abruptly and her eyes were once again warm gold. "Are you all ready to go?" Alaster asked them.

Harry looked at Rhia. She nodded. Everyone else was already finished as well. "We're ready," Harry told the man, " But Draco hasn't come down yet."

"Well someone go get him. We have a lot of work to do today." Alaster said, exasperated.

"We can't," George told him. "None of us are Slytherins. We couldn't get into his dormitory if we wanted to."

"What do you mean?" Alaster asked.

"He lives in the Slytherin Dormitory. Only Slytherins can get in, because only they know the password." Ana said.

"That's not… entirely true." Hermione said, biting her lower lip. Everyone looked at her in surprise. "I can get in there, if I need to. It's part of being a prefect." 

"You have the passwords for all the dorms?" Fred asked, eyes suddenly alight with mischief. 

Hermione frowned. "Don't even think about it you two. I'm not going to tell you, no matter what you say. It's prefect business."

"Besides, you can just ask the person in the painting if Draco has come out yet, or if he's still inside. You may not even have to go in." Neville suggested.

"Well, who's going to go with Hermione?" Rose asked. "It has to be a guy, just in case they have to go up to the boys rooms." 

Harry was about to volunteer, but Rhia stopped him. "The portrait wouldn't let you into that dormitory Harry." Smiling sheepishly, he nodded.

Neville shook his head vehemently. Hermione flatly refused to let either of the twins go. Ron's blue eyes were still stormy from his suspicion that it was Malfoy's fault Fianna was small, so he was excluded. This left Daniel. He grinned. "Sounds like fun. I've always been curious about the Slytherin dormitory. I'm not even sure where it is."

"I'm going too," Monica said firmly. It was not a request. Hermione nodded.

"Get going then. Meet us in the classroom." Alaster said grumpily. " Let's go the rest of you, we have preparations to make."

Daniel stared at the stone carving of a Snake. "They really went all out on this hallway, didn't they?" he muttered to Hermione. She nodded and pulled her prefect badge from her pocket, pinning it to the front of her robes.

"What do you mean?" Monica asked. "It's not any more extravagant than any of the other dorms, is it?"

"It's not that… It's the atmosphere." Daniel said, "And there are snakes everywhere."

"We've got ravens all over the place," Monica said. "What's the difference?"

Daniel looked at her. She really couldn't see it. Maybe that came from being a transfer student. She didn't know the Slytherin reputation. The hall was dark, though the morning sunlight shown through the window at the end of it, there didn't seem to be much effect. They relied on the light of the ever-present torches.

Hermione stopped in front of a painting of a very tall, thin, dark haired man. "Pardon me," she said primly, but has Draco Malfoy come through yet this morning?" The man in the portrait looked down his nose at her. His lip curled slightly, but he had to respect the badge pinned to her robes. He shook his head just enough to acknowledge the question. Hermione took a deep breath. "Then I must insist that you allow us to come in to fetch him."

"What's the password Prefect?" The portrait asked with a sneer in his voice.

Hermione was quite suddenly, just as imperious as he. "You doubt the intentions of a prefect?" she asked, her voice hard.

The man narrowed his eyes at Hermione and Monica suddenly realized that his eyes were a familiar, icy blue. This was a portrait of one of Draco's ancestors. No wonder he had such pride. The portrait and the prefect continued to stare at each other. Finally, Monica could stand it no longer. She put her nose in the air and tried her best to imitate Draco's icy tone as she said, "I am Monica Reed and I want to get in there right now." She glared at him. "You [I] will[/I] let us in."

"Why didn't you say so?" The man asked, his tone annoyed as he swung himself aside to let them into the Slytherin Common Room. Hermione and Daniel stared at the violet-eyed young woman. She stared right back.

"I guess… Draco must have… Let's go get him," she stammered finally. She moved through the doorway. Daniel followed her, thinking as he did so that he could really use his knives about now. There was no telling what sort of nasty things awaited them in The Snake Pit. 


	18. Chapter 18

The stone floors were black, the walls were black, but everywhere there was the sign of the Snake. It was embroidered on opulent tapestries of green and silver, on rich rugs that covered portions of the floor. Rather than looking comfortably worn, the furniture looked stiff, not un-used, but none of them had any desire to sprawl across the couch or throw a leg over an arm of the chair. The very furniture seemed to be frowning at their presence in the room. 

"It looks like a parlor," Monica said softly. "Like the ones you read about in Victorian times. Like those rooms that were only used once or twice a year, for entertaining important guests. The ones that the children of the household were never allowed to play in." She looked around, saddened.

Hermione shivered. "It's freezing in here." She looked at the fireplace. Contrary to the chill they all felt, a fire was glowing brightly in the grate. The very metal of the grate itself was glowing with the heat, but the three Guardians could not feel it.

"There is darkness here." Daniel said firmly. His hands were fisted at his sides. "Centuries of it. Let's get Draco and get out." Monica started for the stairs on the left side of the parlor. There was a hissing noise as she neared it. She looked at Daniel. Without another word, he started up the stairs. This time, when she followed, there was no warning hiss. Hermione stayed in The Snake Pit, hand fisted around her wand as she looked around warily, suddenly conscious of the brightness of her scarlet and gold necktie.

Daniel and Monica reached a large black oak door with Year 5 embossed in silver on it. Daniel didn't move for a moment. Monica reached around him and opened the door. At first, the room looked empty of people. It was just as opulent, but not as depressing, as the common room below. The two Ravenclaws looked at the room curiously, both comparing it to their own dorms. Suddenly, with a soft cry, Monica ran to one of the beds. Daniel followed her.

Draco Malfoy, the unspoken leader of Slytherin house, the arrogant pureblood, was lying sprawled on the stone floor next to his bed, shirtless, left arm flung up over his face, the other bent under him at a strange angle. The black silk cord that he kept his Shard on was all that could be seen of it from that position. Monica touched his face softly with the fingertips of one hand. She whispered his name. When this got no response, she repeated his name, louder this time. There was a tinge of desperation in her voice as she tried a third time. 

Daniel stared for a moment, then hunkered down next to them. Something was very wrong. Suddenly, he got an idea. Hoping Monica was too worried to try and hex him he took a deep breath and bellowed, "DRACO MALFOY! GET UP THIS INSTANT!" 

Monica gave him a furious glare, but a soft moan from the boy on the ground called back their attention. Draco's eyelids fluttered. "I'm coming Father…" he whispered. Then he tried to get up.

"Don't move just yet Draco," Monica said, her tone reassuring. Ice blue eyes flew open in shock and settled on her face.

"What is going on in here?" Hermione asked from the doorway. "Was that you yelling Daniel?"

Daniel nodded as Draco's eyes found his. Ice met crystal and neither cracked. Monica didn't seem to notice the tension between the two boys. She was carefully feeling Draco's arms and chest for broken bones. As she touched his right arm, the tension faded. Draco tried very hard not to wince as he moved his arm from under himself. Monica touched it again as it lay, limp across his chest. She looked him in the face again. "It's sprained, perhaps even broken. I'm not sure yet." She told him softly.

"What happened?" Daniel asked.

Draco's brow furrowed. "The book! Where is it? Where's the book?" He started looking around.

"What book?" Monica asked, "Look Draco, if you don't keep still, I can't…" She was focusing on his arm, the fingertips of one hand resting in a line across his forearm.

"The copy… the copy of Hermione's Book," Draco said. "I was looking at it last night, trying to figure it out before I gave it to her. I must have fallen asleep, but I know I had the book with me… I remember waking up once… something grabbed my arm, lifted it off the book I think. I resisted. Then I blacked out." He frowned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying… to fix… your… arm…" Monica said. Her face was intense, her concentration evident, as her face grew flushed. A faint purple glow came from under her shirt. With her free hand she reached for her Shard, and clasped it in her fist. An answering glow came from under Draco's head, and another from inside Daniel's shirt. 

Daniel suddenly realized that Hermione was no longer in the room. He wondered when she'd left and where she'd gone. Just as he did, The girl in question came through the door, followed by the Headmaster himself.

Dumbledore looked down at Draco and Monica in consternation, but seeing the glow from their Shards, the worry faded from his eyes to be replaced by a sense of anticipation. Daniel returned his attention to Monica. Her face was still flushed, her eyes narrowed to slits. Her fingers on Draco's arm were almost glowing, but not quite. Draco suddenly closed his eyes and went pale. Monica snatched her hand away from the arm and relaxed. "It's not broken anymore," she said softly. The glow of the Shards faded away.

"Well done Miss Reed," Dumbledore congratulated her. She jumped and whipped her head around to stare at him. Draco's eyes opened, but it was as if all he could see was her.

"Monica…" he whispered. She returned her attention to her patient, though it was evident that she was aware of the teacher behind her. She leaned further down to hear Draco better.

Daniel stood up and went to the Headmaster. "Professor, Alaster sent us to find him. We found him like this, on the floor, his arm broken and unconscious." Hermione nodded her agreement.

"Perhaps, Miss Granger, you would fetch Madame Pomfrey to tend to Mister Malfoy, now that it appears his arm is no longer broken," Dumbledore said kindly, with a hint of humor in his voice.

"Sir, if Monica has healed his arm then why does he need to see Madame Pomfrey?" Daniel asked as Hermione left the room.

The Headmaster didn't answer. Instead he approached the couple on the floor. Draco stopped talking. Dumbledore smiled at him reassuringly. Draco didn't smile back. With Monica he could relax his guard, but he wasn't sure how to act around the Headmaster now. "Let's get him up onto the bed," Dumbledore said,

"I can get there myself Sir," Draco said, his arrogance back in nearly full force.

"Not without my help you won't." Monica snapped. She stood, then bent to put an arm under his, and around his back. Daniel went to his other side at a look from Dumbledore. Draco stood, slowly. As he turned toward the bed, Monica gasped. He tensed. She shook her head and lightly pushed him down on the bed. At the same time, she was very careful to shield his back from the Headmaster's gaze, as well as Daniel's.

They had just gotten him into the bed and under the covers when Snape rushed in. He pulled up short at the sight of Monica tucking Draco under the covers. His lips became so thin as a result of suppressed anger that they nearly disappeared. 

"Albus I demand to know what happened to my student," Snape exclaimed. 

Dumbledore merely looked at him a moment before calmly saying, "It seems someone accosted Mister Malfoy during the night, spraining his arm and rendering him unconscious." 

"What did they do to him?" Snape asked, furious. His piercing black eyes fastened on Daniel.

"We found him here like this Professor." Daniel said coldly.

"Found him, or wounded him?" Snape growled.

"Really Severus, would they have fetched the Headmaster if they done this themselves?" Madame Pomfrey asked as she came into the room. She went directly to Draco and began to carefully examine his arm. "He's got some bruising on his arm, and a bump the size of a Bludger on the back of his head, but otherwise, he seems all right." She said after a moment.

Snape narrowed his eyes at the two Ravenclaws beside the bed. Hermione was standing by Dumbledore, and so was not included in the Potions Masters wrath, yet. "How did they get in here to find him?" he asked, suspicious.

I let them in." Hermione said. 

"Before you say something that you will regret Severus, I must say that I believe they acted as they should. They were told by a faculty member to fetch Mister Malfoy, and they did so. The fact that they found him wounded was fortuitous for him." Dumbledore said firmly.

"If we hadn't found him, he'd still be lying on the stone floor unconscious," Daniel said.

"Enough. I want everyone out of here. Since he's so comfortable now, We won't move him to the hospital wing. I'll just bring the potion here." Madame Pomfrey ordered.

"Very well Poppy, but perhaps Miss Reed should remain. I believe she's thinking of going into the medical profession herself and may be able to assist you." Dumbledore said. He motioned Hermione and Daniel to the door. "Severus, don't you have a Quidditch meeting to run?"

"How am I supposed to have a team meeting without my Seeker?" Snape asked coldly as they descended the stairs.

"I'm sure you can manage." Dumbledore said. He turned to Daniel and Hermione. "I'd like you two to tell Miss Jameson that everything is to continue as planned. She will understand."

"Which one Sir?" Daniel asked. "There are three of them." 

Dumbledore smiled at him. "Rose, though the others would do well to hear it as well."

"We'll do that Professor, and thank you." Hermione said. Gratefully, the two left the Slytherin Dormitory behind them, unaware until they were free of it, of the tension that had built up in them from merely being in those rooms.


	19. Chapter 19

Hermione and Daniel met the other Guardians in the Great Hall. The other students had already gone on to their various Sunday pursuits. The Guardians and their kits were still at the Hufflepuff table, Ron had challenged the Emmortal twins to a game of wizard chess, two against one, to make it fair. The Weasley twins had their heads together about something, Neville was playing with Andra and Erian while Ginny watched. Harry, Rhia, Rose and Alaster were talking, until Hermione and Daniel arrived.

"What happened to you?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione's pale face.

"Draco was unconscious on the floor of his room when we found him," Daniel said. "We'll tell you the rest once we're in the classroom. Dumbledore said that everything is to continue as planned."

When the others would have erupted with questions Rose stood up and raised her hand for quiet. "If he says everything should go as planned, then we had better get moving. We're supposed to be in the clearing before ten. It's half past nine already."

In the bustle of gathering their things, no one noticed Reggie's queen approach Ron's and knock it off the board. Until Lynne yelled, "Checkmate!" Ron paused in the act of scooping Fianna off the table to stare at the board. As the two girls grinned at the tall redhead, his brothers started laughing. Soon Harry joined them, then Ginny even Hermione smiled just a bit. 

"They beat you!" Fred crowed. 

"The Mighty Chess Master has finally been beaten, by two first years!" George laughed. Reggie and Lynne blushed and Reggie muttered something. "What was that girls?"

"He was distracted. We could tell. And there were two of us. So it doesn't really count." Reggie said.

"Of course it counts," Ron said with a rueful grin. "You were the better players." He put an arm around Hermione and started for the doors.

Rhia leaned over to Harry, "Do you think we should point out that he could have beaten them at least three times, but didn't?"

Harry smiled at her. "If you saw that, maybe you should play him," he whispered back, "No I don't think we should. This way is more fun." Ka'lina tried to get onto Harry's head, but she'd grown too much to fit. So with Rhia's help he draped her over his shoulder. She rested there limp and relaxed even as they climbed the stairs to the third floor classroom.

After carefully checking the hallway, Rose motioned them one at a time through the window into the classroom. Once they were all inside, she spelled the door to only allow Monica and Draco through before locking up again. Everyone was just standing around, the Weasley twins still ribbing on Ron. Alaster cleared raised his hand above their heads whistled shrilly for their attention. "Would you two mind explaining what happened, before we go through the portal?" he asked Daniel and Hermione.

This took about fifteen minutes. When Hermione said that Draco thought his attacker had taken the Phoenix Book, Alaster turned white. "Is he sure it's gone?" he asked shakily.

"Well no, but he wasn't in any condition to look for it when we were there, Alaster." Hermione said. "I thought you told us that that book was only an incomplete copy of mine, and that it was indecipherable to anyone but me."

"I did say that yes… but that was when we had it in our grasp…" his voice faded. Then he snapped out of it. "We have to get to work immediately. If the Serpent now has access to that book, he may break the code before we're ready for him."

"But you said he couldn't. Only Hermione could read it." Rose said.

"But it is an incomplete copy of the true Book. It doesn't have as much protection as the true Book, and thus it may be possible for him to read it." Alaster said. He went to the blank wall of the room and opened the portal to the clearing in the Forest. "Get your things." He ordered and stepped out of the room.

Rose looked at the others. "Do as he says. We really do have a lot of work to do." She scooped up her little box of flammables and headed for the portal. Everyone else hurried to do the same. The dannikits all bounded into the clearing and started rolling around in the grass. As soon as they all were through the portal, it closed and they were in their private clearing, with no evidence to show how they arrived. They started to set up as they had the day before. Everything was going smoothly, except for one thing. They had an audience.

"Great Caesar's Ghost! What's that animal doing here?" Alaster exclaimed. He was pointing at the large black dog sitting at the edge of the clearing, seemingly beyond the Unplottable curtain, yet staring directly at them. Everyone turned to look.

"Can it see us?" Lynne asked softly.

"Nothing can see through an Unplottable curtain unless…" Ana started.

"Unless they know it's there." Daniel finished.

Hermione and Ron were staring at Harry, panicked looks on their faces. Harry in turn was staring at Rhia, who was looking at Rose, who was looking at the dog. "Now I understand," Rose muttered. She nodded to Vestan. He had been watching her for a signal. When she nodded he dashed to the edge of the clearing directly in front of the dog. Stretching up a claw, he started to tear the curtain.

"What's he doing?" Ginny asked.

"He's letting it in." Rose said.

"Why?" Alaster asked, slightly panicked.

"You'll see," Rose said mysteriously.

Hermione and Ron were desperately trying to get Harry's attention. When he finally looked their way, he merely shrugged at their questioning glances. Turning back to watch the dog, Harry bit his lip. He had an idea what was going on, and he wasn't sure he liked it. As soon as the tear in the curtain was large enough, Vestan leaped out of the way and the great shaggy Grim climbed into the clearing. "Everyone, meet Snuffles." Rose exclaimed to the group.

Just as Harry was going to ask what Snuffles was doing there Sirius Black took his place. Everyone stepped back in shock. Nearly groaning aloud, Harry managed to say, "Otherwise known as my Godfather, Sirius Black."

This statement brought pandemonium. The Emmortal twins grabbed a hold of Daniel. Neville nearly fell over in shock, The Weasley twins were seemingly calm, their eyes assessing. Ana turned pale, but managed to stay upright. Alaster's mouth fell open and he merely stared. 

"Hello," Sirius said. "I'm here to train the boys in weaponry. Dumbledore sent me. That's how I knew where this place was." He smiled at them. No one moved.

Harry stepped forward to defend his godfather, but Rhia beat him to it. "The rumors are false. Sirius isn't a murderer. He was framed and falsely imprisoned. He's here now because he's the only one left of the allies my mother had that knew of the Shards, who wasn't a Guardian himself."

"She's right," Ron said. "He didn't do it. The true murderer was Wormtail… otherwise known as my former pet rat, Scabbers."

"We heard the whole story third year, from the rat's mouth, as it were." Hermione said.

No one else spoke as they all assimilated this new information. Harry smiled at Sirius as the looks of fear faded from the faces of his fellows. Of course the hardest to convince would be Draco, and he wasn't there yet.

***

"This should bring down the swelling, and help with the pain." Madame Pomfrey said, handing a small vial to Draco. "Drink it all."

When he made a face at the taste Monica said, "If it tasted it good it wouldn't work as well."

Madame Pomfrey gave her a surprised smile. "Exactly what I was going to say dear." The medi-witch thought, but did not say that young mister Malfoy was handling his injuries with much more control and less self-pity than he had ever before exhibited. She looked at the boy, her well-trained eye noticing the color coming back into his cheeks and noted with satisfaction that the pain was already clearing from his eyes. She frowned sternly at him. "Now I want you to take it easy today. Absolutely under no circumstances are you to even think about Quidditch. Before you retire for the night, I want you to come see me in the Infirmary so I can check on that bump of yours. The Headmaster informed me that you two have some sort of session to get to. I suggest you do so only if you feel able."

"Don't worry Madame Pomfrey. I'll keep an eye on him." Monica assured.

"Of that I have no doubt," The medi-witch murmured at she left the room.

As soon as the door shut behind her, Monica turned to face Draco. "I want to look at your back right now," she ordered firmly.

"Why?" he asked, his face and voice devoid of any expression.

Monica merely looked at him. He sat up slowly and angled his body so that his back was towards her. She moved to sit on the bed so she could look closely. She moved his Shard from where it hung down his back so she would have an unobstructed view. She stared. Thin white lines criss-crossed his back. Scars. She reached out to trace them with a fingertip. Draco tensed, but didn't move. After a long silent moment, Monica asked, "What this an initiation, or a punishment?" Her voice was as soft as her touch on the scars.

"A bit of both actually," he said ruefully.

Monica was silent again as she continued to trace the scars. Most of them were so thin that they were barely raised above the rest of his skin. At first glance they seemed random, but a closer look showed a different picture. "They make a shape."

"What?" Draco asked, trying to look over his own shoulder.

"I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but if you trace them this way, there's a dragon in the scars." She demonstrated by tracing it again.

"Are you kidding me?" Draco asked.

"No of course not." She touched one of the lines under his left shoulder blade. It was thicker than the others, and still a healing pink. "This one finishes it." She was quiet a moment. "There are others that are not connected with the dragon, but it's almost as if they are there only to hide the true shape."

"This is my skin we're talking about here," Draco muttered.

"Yes I know," Monica said smiling and giving his shoulder a caress with her hand. "I think we should talk to Alaster about this, Rose too."

"No way am I showing my scars to that lunatic." He turned to face her, shaking his head vehemently.

"Which one?" she asked.

"Either!" 

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Has anyone else ever seen them?"

"No one, but my old nurse, and now you," he said.

"How have you hidden them all these years?" she asked curiously.

"I've got a concealing potion. I just hadn't taken it yet this morning, what with being unconscious and all." He said, smiling a little.

Monica smiled back. "Well you'd better get a shirt on, we've got a training session to get to."

"I'm not about to get dressed in front of you," he said grinning a very male grin.

"But I'm not supposed to take my eyes off of you," she protested.

"I don't think that's what she meant," he said. 

She laughed. "Alright, but if you get dizzy call for me. Head bumps can be serious."

Yes nurse," he said. She smiled and blew him a kiss, then went to stand outside the door.

*

After a few moments, Draco joined her in the stairwell and they headed down to the Snake Pit and out into the school proper. Snape had somehow managed to get the entire house away from the dormitory, so they weren't seen. Their trip to the third floor classroom was un-interrupted. They were quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. And yet, their hands clung to one another. Once through the window and into the room, they quickly gathered their implements and headed for the blank wall. A tap from Monica's wand opened the portal to reveal their fellow Guardians already in the clearing, hard at work.

Draco and Monica stepped through the portal together. They were just in time to see Sirius lunge at Fred with a tree branch. Before it hit him, Fred's staff blocked the tree branch. A second later, it was shattered by a blow from Ron's club. "Wicked." Daniel said from behind Fred.

Sirius turned to Ron. "You weren't supposed to get involved," he said with a grin. Ron smiled back sheepishly. 

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Draco asked, brushing wood chips from his shoulder. 

Sirius stopped smiling immediately. Harry had told him Draco was a Guardian, but years of hatred for all Malfoys in general kicked in and he was unable to make the first move. So Draco made it. "Do I know you?" he asked, curious. "I assume you're another trainer for us."

"This is Sirius Black, sent to us by Dumbledore." Rose said. "He's here to train them in Weapons."

Draco looked at Sirius for a moment. "I see. An ally of the Guardians would have been an ideal subject for false imprisonment." Ignoring the shock his statement had generated, Draco asked Alaster, "Where should I set up my things?"

"That's all you're going to say?" Ron asked, as surprised as the rest of them.

Draco turned cold eyes to him, raising one perfectly groomed eyebrow. "What should I have said?"

"We expected more of a reaction from you, that's all." Hermione said, looking a bit embarrassed for Ron.

"Why? What's the big deal?" Monica asked.

Sirius turned to her. "You don't know about me?" Monica shook her head. Sirius smiled. "I'm Harry's Godfather."

"Oh. That's great. Welcome to the group." Monica smiled at Sirius. 

His smile became a grin. "You're the healer then."

"How'd you know that?" Draco asked as he set up his potion-making equipment on the other side of the clearing. He'd just pulled a book from his bag. 

"She has empathy," Sirius said. "And she's got the eyes."

"What do you mean?" Monica asked.

"The woman in your position always has violet eyes. It's a sign of her power." Sirius explained.

"Good to know," Monica said. 

"Okay everyone back to work," Alaster said. Everyone turned back to what they had been doing before the interruption. Alaster turned to Harry. "Harry I want you to concentrate this time. Focus the energy."

Rose snapped her fingers again, lighting the tips on fire. She waggled the flames at Reggie. "Put them out. Without blowing on them yourself."

"Now Ron, why do you suppose you interfered and struck the branch before it hit you brother?" Sirius asked.

"Because he's my brother." Ron said, his tone stating the obvious.

"You're wrong." Sirius said. Then he smiled. "Well yes he is your brother but that is not the only reason. You struck out at the danger because that is what you do. The four of you are the protectors. Even when I told you not to get involved, you did, to protect your brother."

"I didn't need it by the way little brother." Fred said with a grin.

"Well, no. But I didn't think about it. It just happened." Ron replied.

"Exactly!" Sirius cried. "That is what you have to reach in yourselves. You already have the abilities and the instincts. What you have to do is pull them out and utilize them. Your Shards will help you. And so will I."

"No offense meant Sir, but what makes you qualified to train us? I know you're an ally of the Guardians but…" Daniel stopped.


	20. Chapter 20

Exactly!" Sirius cried. "That is what you have to reach in yourselves. You already have the abilities and the instincts. What you have to do is pull them out and utilize them. Your Shards will help you. And so will I."

"No offense meant Sir, but what makes you qualified to train us? I know you're an ally of the Guardians but…" Daniel stopped.

Sirius nodded briefly. "None taken Daniel. You've a right to ask. Mind letting me borrow your knives for a moment?"

Daniel looked at him uncertainly for a moment. "I don't know… I haven't even taken them out of their scabbards yet."

"I'm not going to mess them up, believe me." Sirius said with a smile.

Still reluctant, Daniel took his knives from their place strapped to his back, straps, scabbards and all. He held them out to Sirius, hilt first. Sirius smiled reassuringly at him and gripped a hilt in each hand. With the ease of long practice, he pulled the knives from their sheaths. The sunlight glinted off the blades. "Beautiful." Sirius murmured. He sliced them through the air. There was a faint whistling as he did so. "Any of you know how to transfigure a rock into a fruit?" Everyone had stopped whatever they were doing to watch the display.

"What do you need it for?" Rhia asked.

"You'll see." Sirius said.

Rhia looked at Ana. "Any limestone lying around?" Ana blinked at her for a moment, then smiled and pointed at a chalky stone at the base of the boulder. Rhia smiled back. "That'll do. Toss it here Harry."

Harry was on the other side of the clearing from her, closer to the stone. He scooped it off the ground. When Ana nodded that it was the right one, he lobbed it to Rhia. While it was still in mid air, Rhia pointed her wand at the rock and said, "Limonadia!" Suddenly a vividly green lime was flying towards Rhia. The abrupt change in substance gave the toss more power and speed than Harry meant it to have and it was flying directly for Rhia's face. Before anyone else could move, Sirius flipped through the air and managed to stop it. 

He landed a bit heavily on the ground again, just as several voices yelled "IMOBULUS!" When the smoke cleared, a perfectly quartered lime hovered in the air only a foot from Rhia's face. She was fine, though her eyes were a bit wild. Sirius was lying on the ground.

"That was amazing!" Alastar gushed.

"Oh for crying out loud Raine!" Rose exclaimed. "Are you going to say that every time we do anything?" This remark set off a yelling match between the two trainers.

Harry rushed to his godfather's side. "Sirius? Are you all right?"

Sirius groaned. "I must be getting old." He leaned up towards Harry and whispered, "Don't go throwing anything else at your girlfriend alright?" Harry's eyes widened and he hoped to Heaven that no one heard that. Sirius grinned even wider. Harry glanced over at Rhia as Sirius got up from the ground after refusing a hand up. She was smiling at Hermione as the girl was examining the hovering pieces of lime. 

"What happened?" Ron asked suddenly. "Where did the smoke come from?"

"My knives." Daniel said, a bit awed.

"What?" Alastar asked, distracted from his ongoing argument with Rose.

"They didn't like me." Sirius said, rubbing his right shoulder. "There's power in them. And more than just their sharpness and balance."

Daniel took the knives back from Sirius, carefully wiping the lime juice from them on his robes. "They're vibrating just a little. It's like an electric hum."

Sirius smiled "Yes," He raised an eyebrow at the blade bearer. "Still question my qualifications?"

Daniel looked over at the still hovering lime quarters. "I'd have to say no. What was that flip thing you did?"

"We'll build up to that. First I want all four of you to put away your weapons. We're not going to use them any more today." Sirius ordered. Harry grinned at the disappointed faces of the Weasley twins, Ron and Daniel. He went across the clearing to where Alastar stood, staring at the hovering lime with Rhia, Hermione, Ana and Neville.

"How did you transfigure it from a distance like that?" Alastar asked.

"How did you know I could find it?" Ana asked at the same time.

"Is it a real lime? Can I have the seeds?" Neville asked.

"How" Hermione started to ask something.

Harry interrupted. "Nice job Rhia. Whose spell missed the lime and hit you?"

Rhia's smile didn't change but her eyes looked very grateful. 

Harry smiled and pulled out his wand. "Encantem Finitem." He said with a swish. He then caught Rhia before she collapsed to the ground.

"Thank you," she said with a gasp. "I didn't know I could go so stiff so fast."

"You were immobilized. Not petrified." Harry said, holding her steady in his arms.

"It felt about the same actually," Rhia said. Harry wondered how she would know that as Hermione raised an eyebrow at the fact that he was still supporting the redhead. Alaster was looking at the two of them, wheels visibly turning in his mind. Neville had plucked the lime from the air and was examining the center for seeds.

"All right there Rhia?" Monica called. She'd gone up to Sirius with a small vial and traced a fingertip over his shoulder before pronouncing him fit enough to continue. The Weasley twins found this vastly amusing. Until they saw her give the empty vial back to Draco, who had been the one to give it to her in the first place. He met their gazes head on before tucking the vial into his bag.

"Oh, I'm fine now," Rhia called back. She stood up straight and stepped away from Harry. As she straightened her robes a bit, and tucked a curl of red-gold hair behind her left ear, Alaster noticed her bandaged hand for the first time.

"What happened there?" He asked suddenly.

"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Rhia said airily.

"Will it interfere in your training?" Alaster asked.

"Hasn't yet." Rhia answered.

"An injured hand has no effect?" Alaster asked.

"I didn't say that," Rhia said. She picked up the box of Phoenix daggers and carefully selected one. Plucking it from the box with her left hand, she smiled at Alaster. She held the little dagger for a moment. Then in a lightning fast movement she got it into her right hand and threw it across the clearing. The dagger skimmed past Rose's ear and struck the tree trunk behind her. "Blessed Hell." Rhia said with a frown.

"That was" Alaster started.

"I wouldn't finish that sentence," Neville murmured as Rose looked up at Rhia.

"Did you get it?" she asked calmly.

"No. I missed. Out of practice." Rhia answered still frowning. Harry was staring at her.

"Well see that you get more practice before you toss one by my head again." Rose said, before turning back to where Reggie was still trying to get the wind to blow out her flames.

"Yeah." Rhia muttered, sending one last frown at the tree.

"What were you trying to hit? Hermione asked.

"Mosquito. Can't stand the things. It moved before the dagger hit." Rhia said. She went to fetch the dagger.

"She just used a Phoenix dagger to try to hit a mosquito.' Alaster said, blinking.

"You said the daggers were for all of us." Harry asked as Rhia returned. She nodded. "Will you be teaching us to do that?"

"Perhaps. I was under the impression that Alaster was to start a dueling club." Rhia hedged.

"We tried that second year. It did not turn out well." Hermione said. 

"That was a wizard's dueling club. Daggers wouldn't come into that kind of club. All you need for that is wands." Harry said.

"How far into it did you get?" Rhia asked.

"One lesson." Harry said.

"Just one? No wonder you think that." Alastar said. "Why only one?"

"Draco summoned a snake, I kept it from eating Justin Finch-Fletchly, discovered I was a Parseltongue and everyone thought I was the Heir of Slytherin." Harry said. "To sum it all up, with the Chamber of Secrets being opened, we didn't have a chance for a second meeting."

"So you really are going to start a Dueling club?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, soon. The Headmaster and Professor Jameson think that it would add to my credibility. We can't exactly tell the parents of the other students that I'm here to train a prophesied elite group of students to go against The Serpent." Alaster said.

"Especially since most of them don't even believe he's back," Neville said. He was carefully examining the single seed he'd obtained from the lime.

"How do you know that?" Rhia asked.

"My Gran griped about it all summer after I told her what happened to Harry last year. She stopped getting the Daily Prophet because it didn't have any news about him in it." Neville answered.

"That makes sense," Alaster said. "Of course, they would not have any news of him because he is keeping his movements secret."

"We know what most of them are though, right?" Hermione asked.

"Most of them," Alaster said. "Now Hermione, let's get to work on your Book."

Harry pulled Rhia aside and started to ask her about the daggers. Neville returned to where Ginny and the Dannikits were helping him sort the seeds. Ana was rolling a pair of rocks around. Without touching them. Rose was holding out two hands of flame. Reggie was concentrating on one and Lynne on the other. Just as Lynne got a 'hold' on the water, Reggie called up a huge gust of wind. The wind blew the water in a tremendous wave out of the tank. The wave drenched all four Weapons boys, before somehow returning to the tank. Not only that, but the water level did not seem to have depleted at all.

The clearing came to a standstill. The wave had just missed Sirius. Fred, George, Daniel and Ron all looked over at the twins. Reggie looked at Lynne. "Uh-oh," they said together. There was a giggle from someone. Then a smothered laugh from someone else. All four boys scowled and the laughter stopped for a moment, before Ginny lost it completely. She started rolling around on the grass, laughing hysterically. All twelve dannikits were rolling around with her, whirring their own laughter. This set off everyone else. Even the four drenched boys managed to smile.

"Uh, what are we supposed to do now?" Daniel asked as soon as there was a pause in the laughter. He held up an end of his robes. It was dripping and heavy. He wrung it out in his hands. A stream of water flowed out. This set Ginny off again. She glanced at Erian and laughed so hard she couldn't breathe. 

As Ginny gasped for air, Hermione, Ana and Rose headed for the boys. All three were grinning at their sopping wet hair. "You know," Hermione said. "Their hair isn't near as fiery when it's wet." She surveyed Ron, smiling widely.

"Help me?" he asked. He shook his head wildly, flinging water about. It didn't hit the girls. Still smiling, Hermione lifted her wand and said a cleaning spell. Ana was trying to help Daniel squeeze the water out of his robes. She kept breaking into giggles however and wasn't much help. 

Rose looked over the Weasley twins. "I think this almost makes up for the chocolate covered strawberry incident." She grinned. "It's about time you guys were as steamed as I was."

"What are you going to do to us?" Fred asked, his own smile faltering.

"You couldn't have been that angry… were you?" George asked.

Still smiling Rose beckoned Reggie to her. The first year approached warily. Rose whispered in her ear. She smiled, then concentrated. Rose held up a large fireball. Fred and George closed their eyes. The wind Reggie called up whipped through the flames and hot air swept the twins. Their hair was blown straight back and their robes billowed out behind them. Both kept their eyes tightly closed. Slowly the wind died down. All four boys were dry. Hermione's spell had worked and the dirt had pulled the water right out of Daniels robes, though he wasn't quite sure how it happened. The twins though slightly wind-blown, found themselves perfectly dry.

"Don't," Rose said without looking at Alaster. He closed his open mouth as she closed her fist and extinguished the fireball. Reggie stood for a moment with her eyes closed. Slowly, her hands closed as well. "Are you all right Reggie?" Rose asked.

The first year opened her eyes and looked at Rose. "Is it like that every time?" she asked, in an awed voice. The corner of Rose mouth turned up as she nodded. Reggie grinned hugely even as her shoulders slumped with tiredness. Lynne put an arm around her sister.

"That was certainly… interesting." Sirius said with eyebrows raised at Rose.

"We deserved it," Fred said, smoothing a hand over his hair.

"I'm not so sure about that," George said, doing the same thing. His hand had a barely noticeable tremor.

"But you see, I didn't actually [I] do [/I] anything to you. Just made you think I would," Rose said with a grin.

Fred looked down at Solida at his feet. She was sitting there, clearly grinning at him. "Note to self," he told her. " Don't use Rose as a guinea pig again."

"Not that we had planned to of course," George said hastily as Rose's blue eyes went green.

"Of course," she said dangerously.

"Can we get back to work now?" Draco asked. "They got wet, now they're dry. Let's move along."

"There's no need for that Draco," Rhia said, gray eyes cool as they rested on him.

"Well getting knocked unconscious kind of makes you want to find out who did it. Know what I mean?" he asked coldly.

"Yes actually I do. So I suggest you stir your potion before it scalds and becomes useless." Rhia answered just as cold.

"What kind of potion are you making?" Neville asked tentatively.

Draco didn't answer. He was too busy stirring. So Monica answered for him. "It's a memory revitalizer. It should help him remember what happened just before he was knocked out."

"Oh, well then you're going to need fresher mugwort than what you have." Neville said.

"How the hell do you know?" Draco said. The Shards sizzled and everyone glared at him. He shrugged it off and asked, calmer, "How did you know that? I had only just noticed."

Neville swallowed convulsively, but squared his shoulders. "I can smell it. That particular sample has been bottled for a very long time. Mugwort should be as fresh as possible when you use it. Just picked is best."

"And where do you suggest I get some fresh picked mugwort? It only grows in summer," Draco said with only a hint of a sneer.

"I… I can grow some for you now. I think." Neville said softly.

"Well then, let's see it," Draco said. It wasn't said cruelly, but it wasn't kindly either.

Neville, being abruptly put on the spot, swallowed again and started digging in his seed bag. Everyone returned to their tasks, though they all kept an eye on Neville and Draco to see what was going to happen next. Rose asked Ana to demonstrate how she got the ground to pull the water from Daniel's robes. {Neville plucked three seeds from the bag.} Fred asked Sirius about the move he'd been trying before the water incident. {Neville walked to the shady side of the boulder.} Alaster asked Hermione if she'd deciphered anything yet. {Neville dug a small hole using a trowel from his book bag} Rhia asked Ginny why she'd laughed so hard at her brothers. {Neville dropped in the seeds and filled in the hole again.} Monica helped Draco keep the fire under the cauldron hot. {Neville put one hand over the now covered seeds and the other around his Shard.} They all dropped the pretense now and watched him.

Neville had his eyes tightly closed. His fingers trembled on the ground. Andra glided over and put her paw on the back of that hand. The trembling stopped. There was a moment of tense silence, followed by an audible gasp as three green shoots popped through the surface of the ground. They all stared as the shoots grew until they were four inches from the ground. Leaves sprouted from the left side of each. For a moment it looked like a circlet of green around his wrist. A bud formed on the tip of each sprout. They had just started to bloom when Neville opened his eyes. "There. That should do it," he said simply. He let go of his Shard and lifted his hand from the ground. "How much do you need?" he asked Draco.

Draco blinked at him uncomprehending for a moment. "Oh. Six leaves and two blossoms should be enough," he answered. 

Neville plucked six of the largest leaves and the two blossoms that were the most open and stood up. "Here," he said as he dropped them into Draco's open hand. 

Several emotions swept across his face. Finally, Draco managed to get his features under control again. "Thank you."

Neville smiled. "No problem." Four and a half years of torment fell away and were forgiven in that single moment. 

@~~~~A/N ~~~~@ Now I don't' want anyone to think that this means they are friends… I'm not done yet. I hope you all checked back in chapter 7 and chapter 36, because I fixed them I reissued them with their missing sections. So now they make more sense. Please check them out. Thanks for READING AND REVIEWING!


	21. Chapter 21

The rest of the Guardians let out sighs of relief. Ron was gaping. Hermione reached over and closed his mouth with an audible click. The phrase 'that was a amazing' could be plainly seen in Alaster's expression. Rhia smiled. Harry watched Draco turn back to his potion. He didn't smile, but he didn't frown either. Neville joined Ginny and the dannikits in the grass. Ginny was staring at Andra, a half-smile on her face. The Weasley twins looked from Neville to their sister and back again. Four Celtic blue eyes narrowed. 

"Have you ever done any archery George?" Sirius asked, to distract him.

There was a wicked gleam in his eye when he smiled, "Once, at a summer fair."

"Shrivelfig arrowheads were very popular with our pals that year," Fred sighed wistfully.

"Which is why Mum never took us to another Muggle/Magic fair again," Ron griped.

"No, we couldn't go after that because Dad kept asking the muggles about Kooshy balls," George said, stringing his bow easily. 

Fred shook his head and rolled his eyes. "For some reason they took offense to that."

Daniel laughed so hard, he had to put his knives down. All three Weasleys looked at him quizzically. "What's his problem?" Ron asked.

"Koosh… Koosh balls are a child's… toy…" He gasped out.

"Why is it funny then?" Sirius asked. Daniel just looked at him, tears of laughter brimming in his eyes. "Nevermind. So George, do you remember…"

"How's the potion coming?" Alaster asked Draco.

"It's almost ready." Draco said. "Just the cooling and bottling to do now." He looked at the bubbling blue liquid. "Then we'll see."

"So what are you doing now?" Ginny asked.

"Huh? Oh. Just sorting." Neville answered. "There are thousands of seeds in here you know."

Ginny smiled. "I know."

Neville frowned. "I just hope I didn't use up all of my mugwort seeds just then." He started digging in the bag again. "It's a useful plant."

"Maybe we can help." Ginny suggested.

"Who?" Neville asked, all his attention focused in his fingertips on the seeds in the bag.

"The kits, and me. Just pour out some of the bag, and we'll help you sort it." Ginny said.

"You… and the kits?" Neville looked up. All twelve dannikits were sitting at Ginny's feet, looking up at him expectantly.

"They're bored." Ginny added. "They want something to do. So do I actually."

"Uh… okay. Sure. They can sort seeds?" Neville asked.

"They can do anything we teach them to do," Ginny said. "Here, I'll show you…"

A few moments later, they had twelve kits darting here and there across the robe Ginny had spread on the ground. There were small piles of seeds beginning to form as the kits separated the ones in the bag. Erian and Andra appeared to be directing the others. Ginny giggled as Phantom picked up a large seed in her mouth and carried it. 

"Is there anything else?" Monica asked.

"No, it's ready." Draco said, staring down at the small bottle in his hand. Without another word he upended it and swallowed the swirling blue contents in one gulp. He looked at Monica. "It's sweet."

Monica frowned. "Oh dear, potions aren't supposed to taste good."

"This one is." Draco declared. "Recalled memories are sweet." Blue eyes met violet. "Unless they are painful." On his last word, she actually saw the shadow of memory come into his eyes. She put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him questioningly. "I forgot," his hands clenched spasmodically, "to specify," the empty potion bottle shattered in his fist, "which memory I wanted to recall," he finally ground out through clenched teeth.

"What happened?" Hermione asked. She looked at the shattered glass and Draco's stone cold face. Monica was watching his eyes. There was pain there. Remembered pain was no less real the second time around, she knew.

With a soft cry, she realized that his hand was bleeding lightly. She pulled her bag over to where they stood and started to tend it. He pulled his hand away from her, shaking his head. "Don't touch me," he whispered. His eyes were clouded with the past. He moved away from her. Frowning worriedly she bent to pick up the glass on the ground.

"I asked you what happened," Hermione repeated. 

"He forgot to say the spell before he took the potion," Monica said. "Now he's got a swarm of forgotten memories in his head."

"Oh. That's not good. Has he ever made this potion before?" Hermione asked. She tucked her Book safely into her own bag and started to help pick up the glass.

"I don't think so," Monica said. 

"Where'd he get the recipe?" Hermione asked.

"That book there." Monica said. She pointed to the small green book lying propped up next to Draco's cauldron.

With a wary glance at the still silent and unmoving Draco, Hermione approached the book. She read through the recipe. "Oh. My. Not good. Not good at all." She muttered before diving for her own book.

"What's going on?" Alaster asked. He moved from where he was watching the Emmortal twins make a water spout to the 'intellectual' corner.

"Draco took the potion, but he forgot to say the specification spell," Monica said. "He broke the bottle in reaction, cutting his hand and he's not letting me heal it."

"Oh. What potion was that he took?" Alaster asked.

"I don't know what it's called. Hermione has the book." Monica answered.

Alaster joined Hermione in poring over Draco's book and her own. Reggie leaned over to Lynne, still swirling the air over the water tank idly. "What time is it, do you think?"

Lynne let the air pull the water up into a spout. "I don't know, probably close to lunch though."

"Lunch?" Ron asked. "Did somebody say lunch?"

Rose looked over at him. "Yeah, it's about that time I suppose." She looked for Alaster. "So Raine, break for lunch?" Alaster looked at her, hazel eyes worried and face pale. "What is it? What's wrong?" Rose asked. Her eyes went as gray as Rhia's.

"Malfoy just sent his whole bloody mind back in time," Hermione said in a quiet, shocked voice.

Silence fell on the clearing with a suddenness that was nearly as startling as the statement. "What do you mean?" Monica asked. "He's standing right there."

"Yes, but his mind, his reality is in the past," Alaster said. "At least that what I think. I've never heard of this potion."

"I'm not positive, but I think that without the specification spell, the potion has no goal, no focus. Instead of remembering last night, he's opened his mind to any number of forgotten memories." 

Monica picked up her medical bag and went to where Draco stood, rigid. Crystal blue eyes met her own, unseeing. "Draco?" she murmured. She bit her lip and took his bleeding hand into her own. "I'm going to heal your hand now, so don't pull away," She told him softly. 

The rest of the group fell apart. Rose started yelling at Alaster about not keeping an eye on Draco. He started yelling back about not having fifteen pairs of eyes available. Hermione retreated to her books, searching frantically for something, anything that might help. Ron joined her. She smiled tremulously at him and leaned on his shoulder a moment before pulling another book out of her bag. The Emmortal twins just looked confused. Ana idly rolled a small rock in her hands. Neville and Ginny went back to sorting seeds. He muttered something to her about finding some memory blocking plants. The kits went to their respective companions. Fred and George watched Monica with Draco, until Rose's yelling caught their attention. The argument had degenerated into name-calling and she'd pulled the ancestral card out on him. Daniel went to his sisters. He and Ana tried to get them interested in other things. Harry looked at Rhia. Together, they went to Monica.

As they approached, she was just finished cleaning the cuts on his hand. "Draco? I'm going to close the cuts now all right, so don't move." It took only a second for her to heal the cuts. She looked into his face again.

"Anything we can do to help?" Harry asked softly.

"I don't know," Monica said. "I don't know what would help. I don't even know if he can hear me." Her eyes filled with tears and she bowed her head

"Of course I can hear you Althia," Draco said. Only it didn't quite sound like him. He turned his newly healed hand in hers and squeezed.

Monica looked up at him, teary purple eyes fastening on his face. Rhia stepped closer. "Draco, what's going on?" she asked. A sudden light glimmered in her gray eyes. 

"You'll know that better than I Levina. You weren't unconscious." Draco said with an uncharacteristic wry grin. Harry's mouth fell open. Draco looked back at Monica. "My head hurts something fierce 'Thia. Think you could do something about it?" 

Monica blinked. "Uh…" Rhia nodded at her. "Of course." She put her hand on his head. "Better?"

"Always," he smiled again. 

"What happened? Why were you unconscious?" Rhia asked softly.

"The traitor tried to take the book. I stopped him though. It's still safe." Draco said.

"That's good. And the traitor was…?" Rhia asked.

"You know as well as I who it was." Draco snapped at her. He looked away from Monica and caught Harry's eye. "Bar- " he shook his head. His eyes changed. "Potter? What's going on? Why are you staring at me?" he asked in his own voice. 

"You took the Forget-me-Not Potion without saying the specification spell," said a tired voice behind Harry. It was Sirius. 

"How did you know what it was called?" Monica asked. "You didn't read the book."

"Lily made it once, for James," Sirius said with an apologetic look at Harry.

"My mother was a Guardian too?" Harry asked.

"No, but she helped your father in every way she could. Which included making potions and charms that helped him to Guard the Heartstone." Sirius answered.

"Then you know what the potion does," Monica said. "Tell me how to help him. He didn't even know me!"

"On the contrary Monica, he knew you as Althia," Rhia interrupted. "He remembered a historical event from the original Gathering."

"What? I did what?" Draco asked.

"Never mind," Rhia said. "Feeling like yourself again are you?" 

"I've never felt any different," Draco said. He looked around. "Is it just me or did it get darker?" 

"What are you talking about? It's not any…" Rhia stopped and looked up. The sun was gone, hidden behind black thunderclouds. "Uh oh." Harry looked up and then over at the others.

Alaster and Rose were still going at it. George was standing by Rose, ready to stop her if it got really out of hand. Fred was next to Alaster for the same reason. Harry felt the warm weight of Ka'lina wrap around his shoulders. Without looking at her, he pulled her off and handed her to Rhia. "Something's happening." He said softly. Neville and Ginny started scooping up seeds and returning them to the bag. Hermione sat amid a circle of books, writing furiously on her notepad. Ron was reading over her shoulder. Daniel was talking to Ana beside the boulder. Harry heard a snap. Rose had flames flickering between her fingers. George grabbed her hand before she could throw anything at Alaster. "Where are the twins?" Harry asked.

"They're right there," Sirius said.

"No, the little twins." Harry said. George and Fred were both in it now with Rose and Alaster. A moment later, Daniel and Ana joined in. When they moved, Harry could see the girls. They were both huddled by the boulder, their kits clinging to their robes. The leaves of the trees started fluttering in the wind. Without conscious thought, Harry looked at his hand. A crackling ball of barely reined lightning sizzled between his fingers. With a swift motion of his hand, he threw the ball to the ground between Rose and Alaster. 

The nose wrinkling smell of ozone filled the clearing as lightning sliced through the air and scorched the ground. There was a loud clap of thunder. Everyone turned shocked eyes to Harry. "Don't look at me. Stop them." He pointed to the crouching girls.

Daniel was the first to reach his sisters. The wind whipped through the clearing, tearing at clothes and hair. He had to yell to be heard. "What are you doing?" he asked Reggie. As he touched her shoulder, his robes stilled. The wind still buffeted everyone else, but it was as if it couldn't touch him.

There was no rain falling yet but the clouds were heavy, dark and low with the impending deluge. Rose left Daniel to his sisters as lightning lanced across the sky. Rose tapped the boulder with her wand. Their calm classroom appeared. As one, ten dannikits dived for the opening. Anondir and Ikarus remained with their companions. Ana tried to pull Ikarus away from Reggie but he only clung harder to his mistress. Daniel shook her lightly. She looked up. Those close enough to see her eyes backed up a step. They were a deep blue, the pupils mere pinpoints. Lynne was the same when he lifted her head. Neither seemed to see their brother. Neville, Ginny, Draco and Monica hurried into the classroom. Harry watched the sky. Electricity still crackled between his hands. 

With a look at the stunned Alaster and the frantically motioning Rose, Rhia threw the edge of her cloak over Harry's humming lightning rods on the ground. Using the cloak she scooped them up without touching them herself. Pulling Sirius behind her, she went into the classroom. Fred and Ron helped Hermione gather her books and hustled her through the portal. Daniel and Ana were still trying to rouse the twins. George motioned to him. Talking was useless in the wild wind. Rain began to fall in hard, needle-like drops. George picked up Lynne and put her over his shoulder. Daniel followed suit with Reggie. They went through the boulder. Lightning sizzled and crackled directly above the clearing, directly above Harry.

Although he was drenched to the skin, his black hair still stood on end. Each brilliant flash of lightning was almost instantaneously followed by a deafening crash of thunder. Rhia came back through the portal. With a tug and a shove she got Ana and Rose out of the clearing. Then she went to Harry.

"Come back Harry. Come back from the edge. Let it go." Harry heard her voice as if from a great distance. "Blessed Hell Harry! If you don't come back right now, I'll never kiss you again!" Suddenly, there she was, her eyes as gray and stormy as the sky above them. It could have been tears or rain streaming down her face, he couldn't tell. She smiled ruefully and took his hand. Together they stepped through the portal.


	22. Chapter 22

Rhia squeezed his hand before walking to where Daniel sat with the still enthralled twins. He was watching them. The quiet of the room was broken only by the sound of water dripping from robes. "The storm has them now," Rhia said softly. The fury of the storm was muted now by the castle walls. 

"What do you mean?" Ron asked. "Didn't they start the storm?"

"No they didn't," Daniel said fiercely. "They had no reason to."

"Well someone did," Sirius said. "That was no ordinary storm."

They were quiet, contemplating that for a moment. Ginny had summoned fluffy scarlet towels from the Gryffindor girl's dormitory. She handed them to those who had been in the rain. "What did you mean, 'the storm has them now'?" she asked Rhia.

"Someone sent that storm here and it caught them as surely as a fishing net." George said before Rhia could answer.

"Yes, that's it exactly," Rhia added. "Newly come into their powers as they are, they haven't built up any defenses. They were caught up into the power of the storm."

"It pulls at you. At the center of you… I almost got lost in it myself," Harry said, his tone almost wistful.

"I forgot about that," Rose said softly. "I block it automatically now, I hadn't thought…" At the confused faces around her she sighed. "It's an elemental quirk. If we are open to it, if we're not careful, we can get caught in, or enthralled by any naturally, or supernaturally occurring aspect of our gifts."

"So what do we do?" Daniel asked. "Are they caught irreversibly? I can't just leave them like this!" He looked worriedly at his sisters. "I can see it now. 'Hey Dad and Mum. Oh yeah the girls are fine. They're just in thrall of a freak thunderstorm. But don't worry. They're healthy.' That would go over real well."

"We only have to wait until the storm blows itself out." Rhia said, toweling her hair. "They'll be fine." She looked at Rose. "Remember the forest fire a few years ago? You stood there watching it for hours, while firemen ran around you to put it out. We couldn't move you for anything. But you weren't hurt. It was like the fire wouldn't touch you while it had you."

"Like them. Neither one is the least bit windblown or wet from the rain." Ana said.

"Yes. They'll be fine. The storm should finish up in an hour or so. Something as wild as this one can't last long." Rose said. She glanced out the window. They could see the Forbidden Forest and part of the lake. Some of the smaller trees were nearly bent double in the gale. There were ten-foot waves on the surface of the lake and the rain was coming down so hard it made a mist when it hit the surface from droplets re-launched into the atmosphere.

"This isn't normal." Monica said. "Not for this part of the world. This is hurricane weather."

"Of course it isn't normal. Father's pet weather-witch is throwing a tantrum." Draco said in a snide voice. "I hope she doesn't damage anything important."

"What was her name again Draco?" Rhia asked in a haughty voice. Harry shot her a glance. The twinkle in her eyes belied the tone.

"Desiree, Mother. The one he tried to pass off as a maid the last time." Draco answered. 

"Oh, right. That one." Rhia said in a bored tone. Draco didn't even look at her. He was watching the storm.

Alaster watched this exchange with interest. "How did you…"

Draco turned and saw the numerous intense faces watching him. He scowled. "What the devil did I say now?"

"At least this one was from this lifetime," Harry said dryly. The hint of a smile appeared on Draco's face. 

"Your father knows a weather-witch?" Alaster prompted.

Draco paled even more than usual. "What did I say? What was the memory?" he asked urgently.

"You said that 'Father's pet weather-witch was throwing a tantrum.' Oh and that her name was Desiree." Rhia answered.

"Oh. Yes. She was fifteen at the time and quite inclined to local storms of temper." Draco said after a moment. "She'd been spoiled by her foster family before coming to live with us." He ignored the snort of laughter from a Weasley.

"Fifteen… and your father was using her?" Hermione asked, outraged. 

Draco sneered at her. "He's been using me since before I was born, so I don't think the transition was difficult." He shook his head. "And no he wasn't using her then. She was too unpredictable. She'd be about twenty now." He glanced outside. "Obviously come fully into her powers."

"With some coaching from your father," Harry said.

Draco met his eyes. Neither flinched as he said, "Yes." A moment later, he added, "I've never seen anything like this before. Her storms were always localized, nothing this powerful."

"That means she's close by," Alaster said. Without another word he was out the door.

"Does he think she's actually here at Hogwarts?" Ginny asked.

"Who knows?" Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"You said you'd never seen her do anything like this before. Why do you suppose that is?" Fred asked.

"Because she's tapped into them," Sirius said with a nod to the twins.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked. He sat with an arm around each sister. "She's caught them and now she's using their power?"

"Lucius is giving her a taste of pure power to make her hunger to have it again. It's a common enough practice for our Enemy. Let a person's own desires drive them to his work." Sirius answered.

"Once they come out of this, will she be able to get their power again? Ana asked.

"I'll teach them to block as soon as they recover. Then she won't be able to reach them." Rose answered.

"Unless they are captured and turned." Draco said softly. "That's how he got Desiree in the first place. She was ten when she first came to us."

"A ten year old girl, taught to hate for a decade and then given power like this…" Ana said staring out the window. She smiled, a never seen before glint in her dark eyes. "She's certainly upset."

This comment was followed by a crack of thunder so loud that it shook the castle. The rumble of the thunder faded, but the shaking just went on. The dannikits yowled as the floor beneath them began to tremble. Segan hissed. That being something none of the dannikits had ever done before, drew attention to him. He was balanced on the windowsill, small fangs bared to the cloud-black sky. He was only two feet up the wall from the violently shaking floor, and he was perfectly still. Before the implications of that could process in the minds of the Guardians, Reggie screamed.

Abruptly, the shaking stopped. A moment later the wind died down and the rain became nothing more than I light drizzle. Just another moment and a hesitant ray of sunshine peeked into the room. "Now she's [I] really[/I] upset," Ana said with satisfaction.

"So am I," George said as he picked himself up off the floor. "Did you have to do that without warning us?" 

Ana blushed. "It just sort of happened. I only shook the castle and surrounding area. I think."

"This is turning into quite a day," Sirius commented.

"You have no idea," Lynne whispered. Her voice sounded clogged, as if she'd been crying for a long time. She and Reggie were clinging to their brother. All three were trembling violently.

"How are you feeling?" Monica asked.

"Like I've just been through the spin cycle of a washing machine," Reggie rasped.

At the same time, Lynne answered, "Like ice in a sno- cone maker."

"At least they still have their senses of humor," Fred said cheerfully.

"Do not." Reggie muttered.

"That's how we really feel," Lynne stated.

Everyone smiled a bit. Reggie looked at Ana. "Thank you Antar." Ana blinked at the use of her full name. "If you hadn't frightened her, we'd still be trapped."

"But you screamed," Neville said.

"She didn't. That woman did, just before she let us go." Lynne said. 

"She needs a firm place to stand in order to do her magic," Draco said.

"How does she do it?" Daniel asked. "I thought these two were the only ones who could control the weather."

"I haven't a clue," Draco said. "I just know she does it."

"Let's pool what we do know," Sirius suggested.

"Someone, presumably this Desiree, called up a storm," Rhia said. "You two," she motioned at the twins, "were open and she grabbed up your power, using it in her fury."

"It wasn't like that exactly," Reggie said, "she wasn't angry. She was…"

"Exultant. Triumphant." Lynne finished. "Until the end."

"But why?" Ginny asked, "She didn't gain anything."

"Oh, but she did." Monica said. "She discovered what she could do, with the girls at her disposal."

"It also may not have been wholly her triumph you sensed. It could have been her keeper's," Sirius said.

"I would know if my Father were here Mr. Black," Draco said.

"He may not be her keeper anymore," Rose said. "He has… other responsibilities these days." She started a fire in the grate with a snap of her fingers. Rhia summoned blankets and draped them over the twins.

"It was strange," Lynne said as she clutched the blanket close. "She was very clumsy at first. Clawing at the clouds, as if they would willfully evade her hands."

"Yes, she fought the wind at first," Reggie added.

"As a simple weather witch, that is how she must do it," Rose said. "She has to use force where you two only have to ask."

"Ask?" Hermione queried.

"The elements are really very accommodating most of the time," Rose explained. "What it boils down to is the various methods and the courtesy involved. Reggie could ask the wind to blow a certain way, and it would, merely because she asked. This weather witch has to use her magic to force it. As a result the wind itself is angry and reluctant."

"I don't understand," Ron said.

"Well," Rhia started.

Just then, Alaster popped back into the room. "We're all to go to Dumbledore's office."

"Yes immediately," Cora said, coming in behind him. "You have some explaining to do."

"What's the attitude of the rest of the school?" Rose asked.

"Everyone's a little uneasy. That was quite a storm," Cora answered. "Are you two all right?" This last was directed at the twins.

They shook their heads. "How would you feel if someone reached inside you and took what you didn't even really know you had?" Reggie asked.

"Huh?" Neville asked.

"We haven't even begun to stretch into our powers and already someone is trying to take them from us. They're a part of us, but we didn't know how big a part until they were taken away." Lynne answered.

"They're a part of you all right. Which is why Dumbledore it concerned. This weather-witch's attack today violates all sorts of laws and rules that surround the school. It shouldn't have happened." Alaster said.

Everyone started to move towards the door. "It'll never happen again, I promise," Draco said in a petulant voice. Cora paused and looked at him. He was staring at the wall.

"What the…?" she started.

"Shhh… let him finish." Fred whispered. The blonde looked at him questioningly. Everyone watched Draco.

The Slytherin flinched suddenly. "I won't spy on her anymore. I just wanted to know how she" he broke off. His voice stiffened. "Yes. I understand. I won't. Don't do that. I said I wouldn't" He flinched again.

"What's happening to him?" Reggie asked.

"It's a Memory," Harry said. "Another one from this lifetime I'd say."

"Maybe he'll know more about Desiree when he comes back." Ginny said.

"Comes back? What are you talking about?" Cora asked.

"I'll explain once we get to Dumbledore." Alaster said. "We're going to have to make some special arrangements for Draco for a while."

"Let's hurry then," Cora said went to the wall next to the doorway. She put the tip of her wand to wall and said, "I need to get to the Headmaster's Office immediately." The wall seemed to shimmer and the doorway changed. The door was older, and bigger.

"How come I didn't know it could do that?" Rose griped.

Cora sent a glance over her shoulder at her sister before opening the door. They found themselves looking into the back room of Dumbledore's office suite. The painting of Atlantis was still the centerpiece, it was at a late phase in its pattern. The city had nearly gone entirely beneath the sea. "Because it couldn't until yesterday night." Cora said. She motioned to the doorway. "Well, come on, in you go."

"Someday, I'm going to make a map of this school," Hermione said. Harry glanced at her. "One that makes sense." She added. Harry hadn't brought up the Marauder's Map, so neither would she. George opened his mouth, but shut it without saying anything.

"You can't," Rose said. 

"And why not?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Because the school itself doesn't make sense," Rose answered. "[I] Magic[/I] doesn't make sense."

"Yes it does," Hermione said.

"Alright then, explain to me how in the world something like a hippogriff can survive? How did it come into being? How can those wings big and real as they are actually lift a body that weighs more than ton off the ground?" Rose asked. "Explain to me, using all the powers of logic at your disposal, how a Hippogriff even exists?"

"Well, because… because it…it can… it" Hermione stopped.

"Because it's magic." Rose finished. "Magic doesn't make sense."

"We're getting majorly side-tracked here," Alaster said. "Let's go."

They went. Daniel tried to pick up Reggie, but she insisted that she could walk. She did, and so did Lynne. They were physically fine. It was the mental and spiritual difficulties that would have to be dealt with as soon as possible. Monica ushered Draco through. He'd stopped talking to a phantom authority figure and only stared wide-eyed at something only he could see. That something wasn't at all pleasant, if his expression was any indication. Sirius went 'Grim' before going through the doorway, drawing Rhia's attention. She watched his change with interest. Harry watched her. A light seemed to go on behind her eyes. He willed her to stay herself, for now. Who knew what kind of fit Alaster would throw if he knew what she could do. She looked back at him and gave him a tiny smile. She knew exactly what he was doing. Every kit was still firmly attached to their companion. The storm attack and earthquake had upset them as much as it had their people. Cora finally had everyone through the doorway and came through herself. "Thank you," she said politely. The door shimmered again and disappeared entirely. "Now all we have to do is wait for Dumbledore to get here."

"Where is he?" Harry asked.

"He's doing panic control in the Great Hall." Alaster answered. "He'll be here momentarily."

"How soon is momentarily?" Ron asked. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm famished. We missed lunch."

"Don't worry Mr. Weasley. Some refreshments will be here shortly. As soon as we get a few things straightened out." Dumbledore said from the doorway.

Ron looked slightly embarrassed. "Thank you sir."

Dumbledore smiled at him before turning serious. He looked at the little twins. "How are you feeling?" Daniel looked mildly surprised.

"Wrung out," Reggie said, but otherwise I feel fine." She was obviously nervous, never having had an actual conversation with the Headmaster. Her sister was the same.

"I feel a little smashed, but I'm fine too." Lynne managed.

"Alaster told me there's a weather-witch somewhere on the campus and she's the reason for the storm. Do you have any idea where?' he asked them, still smiling encouragingly.

"I don't think we can know that until a damage report comes in Sir," Reggie said.

"Why is that?" Cora asked.

Lynne smiled for the first time. "Because, she may have been drawing on us, but she couldn't draw everything."

"Marvelous. I'll get Hagrid to check the grounds following our meeting." He looked at Harry. " How did you manage to stay out of it?"

"I sensed her net, after she caught them. Even though I knew it was there, she almost got me. Rhia pulled me back, before she got her hooks in me completely." Harry answered.

The Headmaster nodded and turned to Ana. "You my dear? How did you become involved?"

"She made me angry," Ana said. "What she was doing to the twins was wrong. We didn't know precisely where she was, so I only touched the castle and surrounding area. I stopped when she released them."

"You do realize that there hasn't been an earthquake in this part of the world for centuries." He said still smiling. Ana nodded, blushing. "What am I going to tell your fellow students?'

"Tell them someone tried and failed to tamper with one of the protection spells surrounding the school." Hermione said. Everyone looked at her. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. Hermione sighed. "Oh honestly! Hogwarts, a History, Chapter Nine: Safety at School. Since I'm the only one in the [I] entire[/I] student body to have read the chapter, none of them will know that it's not entirely true."

"But it is true," Ron said. "In a way." Hermione looked at him, eyebrows raised. "The twins were threatened, and Ana protected them. The actual method isn't important." Dumbledore nodded.

"The faculty shall be told. Thank you."

"Sir, if you don't mind…" Ginny asked. He looked at her. "Why are you asking us anyway?"

"You are the Guardians. Whether you know it or not your actions and ideas are beginning to reflect that. You could have said tell them the truth and wait for the shrieks to stop, but you opted instead to protect them, yourselves and thereby the Shards." He explained.


	23. Chapter 23

Fianna mewled pitifully, making Draco jump. He blinked at her. "I didn't let him take her. " His voice was deeper, with a strange lilt to it. "She fought, as did I, but he took her anyway." 

"What is he talking about?" Cora asked softly.

"Forget-Me-Not Potion, unspecified. So well done that he's remembered bits from his predecessors." Alaster murmured.

"Well then let's ask him…" Cora exclaimed.

"It's not like that. He doesn't remember the past lives when he comes back to himself. It's uncontrolled." Rose explained to her sister and the Headmaster.

"How does it happen?" Dumbledore asked.

"The first time it was Monica's aid that triggered it. He went all the way back that time. We know because he called her Althia. The second time, it was the storm and a memory from this lifetime. That's how we knew about the weather-witch. Now there's this one." Hermione answered.

"But why?" Draco was saying, "He's got to know that once they are bonded, it's impossible to turn them."

"I don't know why," Monica said softly. She looked at Rhia, her violet eyes troubled.

"For some unholy purpose I'm sure," Draco continued. "Some potion or spell that he thinks will defeat us."

"It won't work," Monica said. She was reasonably sure of this, since the Guardians had obviously not been defeated in whatever life Draco was caught up in.

"No. Her love of me is stronger than any attempt he could make to turn her. But he will try. She will be lost, and I shall never have another companion again."

"But a companion is necessary," Monica said, guessing in the dark.

"That may be true for the Heart and the Elementals, and for some of the others, but not me. There will never be another for me." Draco said. He bent his head and was silent.

"A Dannikit!" Ginny exclaimed. She blushed in the silence, but continued, "He's talking about an Agoradan companion. That's why he doesn't have one now."

"If that's true then why doesn't Rhia have one?" Alaster asked.

"We don't know that yet Raine. She's not the one with memories of her ancestors." Cora said with a glance at her sister.

"What the hell?" Draco asked in his normal voice. He looked at the others' expressions. "This is getting bloody annoying." Then he saw the Headmaster and turned into a stunned Malfoy statue. "Hello Sir."

"Young Mister Malfoy. You have no memory of what just transpired?" Dumbledore asked. Draco shook his head. "Interesting." He stroked his beard with one hand and looked at Atlantis.

It was at the crucial moment in its cycle. Lianna had just laid her hands on the Sunstone. The city rippled. "Is that…?" Monica asked.

"Yes." Rhia said. Her voice was hoarse. Harry looked at her. Her gray eyes were wide and focused intently on the painting. Her hands fisted when the Serpent raised his hands to the sky. Draco and Monica watched as the tableau unfolded. Harry reached for Rhia's fisted hand as that telltale light came into her eyes. When he touched her hand, she jumped and looked at him. There was such anger in her stormy eyes that he felt his fingertips sizzle in response. He gripped her hand, trying to calm her and himself. No one seemed to notice, but the hackles of a certain watching canine went up just the same.

"It happened more than 5000 years ago," Alaster said quietly, "but this painting was done so well, it seems the events happen as you watch."

"That was the idea, I'm sure," Rose said, tensely.

So this was the start of it," Draco said. Rose nodded. "I see only the two people. It's obvious who the corresponding person here is for him, but what about her? And where are the rest of the Guardians? If they were supposed to protect the Sunstone, or the Shards or whatever, then why weren't they there then?"

"It wasn't until the next generation that a group we would recognize as the Guardians of the Shards came to be. Lianna's five daughters were the first. They found the rest, when they were forced to scatter the Shards. All were descendants of Atlanteans who had once been Children of the Sun. The Shards had to be separated to hide them, because when three or more are close, they…sing. It's not audible in the normal sense, but those who searched knew how to listen for it." Dumbledore explained.

"So they are singing now?' Monica asked, touching her Shard with a fingertip.

"Oh yes." Alaster said. "That's how I knew you were all here. They rejoice at being together. It's strange I know, but the Sunstone was not a normal magic rock. It wasn't simply a pebble that had been imbued with magic through a spell or a potion. The Sunstone was and is magic. The same way that a person is magic. It's part of their being. They just… are.

"An actual Gathering of the Guardians did not occur until five hundred years later, when the Serpent resurfaced. That was when the Unforgivable curses were finally made unforgivable. They were the Serpent's work. The Guardians were pulled together by their Shards and their allies. They were able to put down the Serpent before he grew too powerful. That was the first, but it wasn't a full gathering. There were only ten Guardians at that confrontation and their powers were not documented, so we don't know who wasn't there." Alaster continued.

"Ahem," Ron said. "I hate to interrupt, but can we maybe talk while we eat? Fianna is hungry, and she has some growing to do."

"Of course, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "Help yourself." Suddenly there was a table piled high with all their favorite foods at the far end of the room. Then the Headmaster was gone and the students dug into the food.

"I hate it when he does that," Cora muttered, walking towards the table.

"Does what?" Alaster asked, handing her a watercress sandwich.

"Just disappears like that. It bothers me." Cora answered, taking a bite. "Mmmm… Watercress is my favorite."

"I know." Alaster said, spreading a bit more mustard on his roast beef sandwich.

Cora paused mid-chew and her blue eyes narrowed. She swallowed her bite and asked. "How do you know?"

Alaster hesitated for a brief second in putting the spreader down. He met her eyes steadily. "How do you think?"

Rose appeared at Cora's elbow. "What are we going to do about Draco?" Belatedly, she noticed their locked gaze and the tension in the air. "Oh. Um… I'll just,"

"What about Draco?" Alaster asked, turning to her.

"Well, If he falls into a memory in the middle of say… Herbology class, someone is bound to notice," Rose said.

"Is Miss Reed in all of his classes?' Cora asked.

"No," Rose answered, "Why?"

"Well it appears that she and Rhia are the ones most able to deal with him when he does Remember." Cora said.

"So it would be advantageous for one or both of them to be in all of his classes!" Alaster exclaimed. "Of course."

"But he's a Slytherin. How are we going to explain the fact that he has a Ravenclaw or a Gryffindor with him at all times? He's got the bad boy image that he has to continue if we want to fool his father during the Quidditch Season." Rose said.

"I thought you'd solved the separate houses problem already sister dear." Cora said, smiling.

"At meal times yes," Rose answered, "but I hadn't moved into classes yet."

"Aren't some of them already mixed?" Alaster asked. "Like the Care of Magical Creatures class, and this one of course."

"Well he's got Double Potions and Double CoMC with Gryffindor already… I don't know the others." Rose said. "Hey Draco!"

He and Monica looked up. She had been telling him what had happened in the last Memory. Rose waved him over. With a questioning look in his eyes, he walked around the table towards them, passing all four Weasley's, Neville, and Hermione in the process. Each dannikit he passed touched him in some way, whether with a paw on purpose, or with the seemingly accidental flick of a tail. "What is it?" he asked. Vestan used his shoulder as a stepping stone to Rose's arms.

"We need to know your class schedule, so we can accommodate your new… affinity with the past." Alaster said.

"You mean you need to set up a babysitter for me." Draco said. His eyes started to freeze.

"We were thinking more along the lines of a guide. Monica is our first choice, since she's relatively new and therefore maneuverable." Cora said, " But if you'd rather have to explain the sudden presence of Harry Potter in all of your classes to your father…"

"No. Monica will be fine. Here's my class schedule." He handed her a slip of paper.

"Thank you." Cora said. Draco started to turn away. "One more thing."

"Yes, Professor Jameson?" Draco asked. His eyes were clear, and the Shard on his shirt front glittered to match.

"Since you were the one who didn't read the fine print before taking the potion, I suggest that you be the one to look for a possible antidote or suppressant. Unless you want to be continuously revisiting the past." Cora said. "And Professor Snape cannot know of this."

"I understand Professor." Draco said. "It's my problem, I'll deal with it."

Cora nodded and smiled. "Now go finish your lunch." He went. Once again, each dannikit touched him as he passed.

"Is that normal?" Alaster asked.

"What?" Rose asked, letting Vestan lick cream from her finger.

"What the kits just did." Alaster said. "Is it normal."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rose said, frowning at him.

"You didn't see it?" Alaster asked. Rose shook her head. "It must be normal, if you didn't notice it."

"What ever it was, watch to see if it happens again and let me know. I'll try to figure it out." Rose said, looking at him with a placating smile. She waved a cream free hand at her sister and went to talk with the little twins.

"Where were we?" Alaster asked, smiling at Cora.

Her smile vanished. "You were about to tell me how you knew what my favorite sandwich was."

"Actually I believe I had just asked you how you thought I knew." Alaster said. Cora frowned at him.

"What do you think they are talking about?" Rhia asked.

"I don't know," Harry answered, "But Professor Jameson doesn't look very happy."

"Probably something to do with the past," Ana said.

"Why do you say that?" Daniel asked.

"Because I seem to remember someone saying that his family's been watching yours for hundreds of years, but the Jamesons have been running from Raines for only the last two hundred," Ana said, "or something like that."

"Something like that happened," Rhia said, "though not quite that way. My family has always run from everyone, not just the Raines. Every time someone got close to our secret, we'd move."

"But Alaster said that you're name hadn't changed." Harry said.

"It hasn't changed, not in essence, but in language." Rhia said. "You wouldn't believe how many different translations there are for the name Jameson. Even 'Jameson' isn't the original. That was Atlantean, and is written in Hermione's book. I don't know it." 

"Why do you suppose your name stayed when others were lost?" Ana asked.

"Probably because there were so many of us to pass it on. The Shards have been our reason for existing for thousands of years." Rhia said. "The duty of Guardianship has been ours from the beginning."

"Isn't that true for all the Children of the Sun?" Harry asked.

Rhia smiled at him and for a moment, the expression in her eyes was older than any he had ever seen, then they were clear gray. "Other families got breaks. Centuries when someone else watched over the Shards. That someone else was us. Those breaks happened when a generation went by where no one suitable was born. Then the Guardian would notify a member of my family, and we would take over."

"And how did they notify you?" Daniel asked.

Rhia smiled widely then. "I don't know. We didn't have that problem this time." Ka'lina trilled at her.

"That's good. Considering this is a Gathering." Ana said.

Shortly after that, Hermione stood up. "I have to go. With me here, Dean will have been left alone to direct the Gryffindors after all this happened. He'll be needing help calming everyone while McGonagall talks to Dumbledore."

"I'll go with you," Ron said. "I'm finished anyway."

"There's a curfew until the grounds are pronounced safe, so I'll need to escort you to the Gryffindor Tower." Cora said. She looked at Alaster. "You and I will finish this soon."

"But of course." Alaster said, nodding.

Rose raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Rhia frowned as Fred asked "What about the rest of us? Are we supposed to wait here, or what?"

"I believe some of you should stay here. Draco and Monica have not seen the painting in its entire cycle yet, and Rose, you need to work out a schedule for them, and Rhia anyway. As for the rest of you, stay or go, decide now and let's be on our way." Cora said. She walked out of the conference room and beyond, to the office proper. Alaster followed with a nod.

"Your sister's gone all professory on us Rose." George said.

"She's is our DADA professor after all." Daniel said.

"Perhaps we should go with her," Ana said. "I don't think she'd mind escorting us to our Common Room."

Daniel looked at his sisters. "We're staying," Reggie said. 

"We have to learn how to block." Lynne said.

"We'll see you in the Common Room, all right Harry?" Hermione said as she and Ron stood up. Harry nodded. Neville and Ginny went as well.

Fred looked at George. "Best be going." 

"I'm staying. I want to talk to Rose a bit." George responded.

Fred blinked. "Oh right. I forgot." He followed the others.

"You might as well go George I'll be a while with the girls." Rose said. "And Draco besides."

"I'll wait." George said. Rose's eyes were a warm gold as they rested on his face.

Rhia looked at Harry. "What are you staying for?"

"I want to talk to you." Harry answered. "Besides, Snuffles is here, and I should probably learn to block with the others, don't you think?"

"That's true," Rhia said, smiling a little. "I might not be able to call you back next time."

"We're leaving." Cora's voice called back to them. 

"Okay." Rose answered. She looked at Rhia. "What makes you so sure there will be a next time?" Rose asked curiously.

"There will be." Draco said. "She won't give up that easily."

"Easily?" Lynne asked. "Easily?! Ana had to call up an earthquake to get us free of her, and that was giving up easily!"

Well," Draco said, looking slightly taken aback. "Yes. She'll be stronger after this. More aware of her potential when she's got you. She'll try harder to reach higher. Next time." He paused and looked at Harry. "Next time, she might get you, and then no little tremble will make her let go."

"How do you know?" Monica asked.

"Because I know Desiree. " Draco said. "She lived with us for a time. She was showing off her little whirlwinds all the time." He smiled. "Then she stopped."

"Why?" George asked.

"I told her to of course." Draco said. The icy gleam in his eye warned them not to ask for a more elaborate explanation.

"Why would her getting Harry make it even harder to get us back? Reggie asked, a little nervously.

"Because of who he is." Draco said. "Besides, if she had the power of lightning, she would be extremely dangerous. She's got a bit of a temper."

"Of course she does." Rhia said. "She's an elemental. It's a character trait."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Rose asked, her eyes tinged green.

"Exactly." Rhia said. It took a moment but the light slowly dawned and everyone smiled except Rose, though the gold returned to her eyes.

George patted her on the shoulder. "Relax. At least no one mentioned the redheaded temper bit."

"How did you know?" Draco asked.

"Know what?" George asked back.

"That Desiree has red hair," Draco responded.

"You're kidding, right?" Rose asked. Draco shook his head. "Erg. Okay let's get started then. Draco. Monica and Rhia, I want you to get to work on your schedules. I want one or both of you girls in every one of his classes. Everyone else over by the fireplace."

A surprisingly short time later, the students left Dumbledore's office, leaving Sirius curled in front of the fire, watching them go. As the Headmaster had not yet returned, and none of them had any desire to get detention for being out and about during a crisis situation, they went as quietly as they could, first to the Ravenclaw dormitory, where they deposited the twins and Monica. Rose assured the twins for the fifth time in as many minutes that they would be safe for the night now that they had learned to block. Especially if they didn't plan on starting any storms in their bedroom. It was only when they were tapping into their own power that they had been in any way vulnerable. They left a thoughtful Draco at his dormitory with the admonition to act as normal as possible to avoid triggering a Memory. The rest of them made there way to the Gryffindor Tower, Tired from the physical and mental exertions of the day, they stumbled into the Common Room.


	24. Chapter 24

And were greeted by very hyper classmates. Having their Sunday entertainments cut short by the storm had made all the students a little wild. Hermione and Dean were sitting on the stairs, staring with defeated eyes at their housemates. Ron leaned against the wall next to Hermione, watching a group of particularly bubble first years playing Exploding Snap. Fred was talking to Angelina, Alicia and Katie. All four of them were muttering over a piece of paper. George, being the tallest of the group entering waved a hand at his brothers. 

Rose, George, Harry and Rhia moved to an unoccupied corner. They were quickly joined by Ginny, Neville, Hermione, Ron and Fred. "Well," Rose started. "We got Draco's schedule worked out. He should be fine for the next little while. The twins and Harry are safe from Desiree too. Now all we have to do is"

"There you are Harry. We need to talk to you about the team," Katie said. 

"We have less than two months before our first match and we don't have a Keeper, or even a Captain yet." Angelina added.

"So it's good that you're here. I think we need to have a meeting." Alicia stated.

"We'll be there in just a second," Fred said. He gave the three Chasers a winning grin. "Don't worry. The Cup is in the bag this year ladies."

"Just remember what Malfoy did year before last when you say that Fred," Angelina said. "We've got to be ready. There's no telling what nasty tricks he'll pull this year." And the three of them returned to their paper and their mutterings.

"I hadn't thought about that. How are we going to compete against each other this year with Shards around our necks?" Harry asked. 

"Focus Harry," Hermione said. "We've got to schedule some research time. We need to find out as much as we can about weather-witches and the lot."

"But I thought he was safe from her now?" Neville asked.

"What Neville? If you think that then you obviously didn't see the lovely Miss Chang at lunch." Seamus said. "Harry's not safe from her unless he's managed to get out of Charms tomorrow. " He winked at Harry. "She looked ready to spit nails when you didn't show up to sit in the seat she saved for you."

"What? But I never…" Harry started.

"That's what I thought mate, but then the female mind does work in mysterious ways." Seamus replied.

"And what is that supposed to mean Finnegan?" Rose asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Er… nothing…um… see ya." And Seamus beat a hasty retreat.

" Okay, now that he's gone, I have a question about," Ginny started.

"Hermione, help!" Dean yelled from across the room. He was standing in a sea of first years. The boys were yelling about the score and the girls were all bawling for reasons unseen.

"Oh for the love of little apples!" Rhia exclaimed. She looked at Rose. "For the sake of my sanity and the safety of our housemates I suggest we declare this informal meeting adjourned until a later, less hectic time."

Rose, seeing the telltale light in Rhia's eyes hastily agreed. The Guardians scattered to their various pursuits.

Two hours later, Rose breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the Stars. I thought this room would never be quiet again."

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked. "My ears are still ringing."

"Listen to us. We sound like grown-ups." Neville said. 

"Oh, perish the thought." Hermione said. "I wasn't ever [I] that[/I] annoying as a first year, was I?"

"Not quite." Ron said. He grinned when she glared at him.

"I think… I'm too tired to think," Rose said. "It's been a very busy day. "We should take up the conversation tomorrow… or whenever I manage to wake up." She called towards the still huddled Quidditch team. "Night all!" 

Within seconds, said meeting broke up and George was at her side. "I never got to talk to you."

"So talk," she said, yawning.

He looked at her tired face and the tired, yet curious, looks on the faces of the others. "Another time." He smiled at her, and was delighted to see the weary gray in her eyes turn greeny gold.

"Goodnight Weasley." Rose said. She gave him a quizzical look before heading for her tapestry door. 

The others soon followed her lead and went to bed. They had had a busy and complicated day. Make that week. A good night's sleep was just what they all needed.

***

It was dark and cold, though a fire burned in the grate. "Why wasn't I told?" snapped a woman's voice. "I was nearly bloody caught, be cause you couldn't keep your pet under control!"

"Don't snap at me wench!" said an arrogant voice. "Just because you are his current favorite, doesn't give you the right to know every action of the older, wiser members."

"Pet! Who are you calling pet you wretched bit-" screeched another woman.

"What's this?' asked a cold, quiet voice. " Now now, don't go insulting Liliana that way. What's the trouble my dear?" The voice nearly shivered through the air. "Wait. Wormtail stir the fire." 

"Yes my Lord," said a sniveling voice. The room was suddenly brighter. The firelight glinted off the silver hand that stirred it. Torches were lit around the room.

"Now, Liliana. Tell me what has you upset." The cold voice said.

A woman, hooded and cloaked stood before an enormous armchair, Lucius Malfoy standing arrogantly beside her. She curtsied beautifully and remained in that position, until an ominous hiss had Lucius down on a knee, as low to the ground as she. "Malfoy set his weather-witch on the school without my knowledge and without proper planning or control." Liliana spoke in clipped, yet silky tones. "They are now aware of her as they would not have been, had I been given this information."

"They didn't even know I was there," a younger woman said from a dark corner.

"You will not speak until spoken to!" the cold voice cracked through the air. "Crucio!" The woman's screams tore the dangerous quiet of the night. With a wave of his wand they ceased and she whimpered from the shadows. "Rise up Liliana." As the woman stood, her hood fell back to reveal hair the color of crimson. A cascading curl hid her eyes, shimmering like blood on her cheek. "Now, Lucius what is your response to this?"

"I felt that she was ready my Lord. The attack had to be made quickly, before they reach their full power." Lucius said.

"So… you think that they are a danger to us then?" the cold voice said dangerously. "Stand!" the cold voice screeched. Trembling slightly, Lucius did as he was told. The wand started pointing around the room at the various people in it. "Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!" As the air filled with screams and an evil cackle, the woman, Liliana knelt again on the ground before the maniacally laughing Lord Voldemort. Suddenly she looked up. One green eye, one blue, glittering with unshed tears. [I] 'Shadow, wake him. Quickly!'[/I] Then the wand pointed at her.

***

Rhia lurched awake, in her own form, still lying on Harry's bed. She sat up and stared at him in the dark. He was pale and twitching a little. "Harry, wake up. Harry, WAKE UP." She reached out a hand and shook his shoulder. He didn't stir. "Ka'lina, his scar." The dannikit moved to cover his scar with her paws as Rhia went cat again. Shadow sat on him and braced herself raking her claws down his chest. 

"NO!" Harry yelled, coming awake and sitting straight up in his bed, throwing cat and dannikit to the floor. "Bloody hell." He was drenched in sweat, as if he had run a very long way, and been terrified at the end of it. He looked down at the floor. Ka'lina was staring at him, glowing eyes accusing in the darkness. Harry concentrated. Blue light flickered obligingly in his left hand. At his first clear sight of the dannikit, his scar burned with renewed vengeance. "Was that you who scratched me?" he asked her. She grumbled at him before jumping onto the bed. Ka'lina climbed to his shoulders and balanced there. She placed a paw on his scar as if to say, 'No you dunderhead. I was doing this.' The burning faded.

"Oh. Well thanks. It must have been Shadow then. Where did she go?" he looked around the room. Surprisingly, considering the amount of noise he'd made, the others were still asleep. He looked down at his chest. His shirt was torn from Shadow's claws. The scratches stung, but no copious amounts of blood could be seen. He was a little worried. He'd knocked the cat to the floor pretty hard. He patted Ka'lina. "Better go find her then. Make sure she's all right." He thought briefly about changing his shirt but decided to wait until he got back to his room. He picked up his robe and slipped into it, taking care not to set it on fire with his flickering hand.

So, sizzling blue-lit hand held in front of him, Harry slowly descended the stairs to the Common Room, watching for the glint of cat eyes. He stepped into the Common Room to find Rhia sitting on the sofa in front of the fire. Closing his hand, the blue lightning faded. Quietly, he approached, not wanting to disturb her, yet compelled just the same. She was curled into the corner seat, her legs bent beneath her, staring into the fire. "Rhia?" he whispered.

She jumped and turned. "Harry. What are you doing awake?"

"I was about to ask you the same question." Harry replied. He came around the sofa and sat beside her. "Did you see Shadow run through here a moment ago?"

"Rose's cat? No. Why?" Rhia asked. She was wearing a plaid t-shirt and shorts. He tried not to notice how her skin glowed in the firelight. He saw her shiver as a cold draft blew through the room, competing with the dying fire. Her arms broke out in goosebumps.

"Well I kind of knocked her off the bed when she woke me up. I'm afraid she might be hurt." Harry said. When she shivered again, he took off his robe and draped it over her shoulders.

"Oh you don't have to… Thank you Harry." Rhia said. She noticed his shirt. "Your shirt. It's torn." She stared at him, gray eyes troubled. "Shadow did that?"

"Well, yes, but she was bringing me home from a nightmare. More a vision really." Harry said. 

"You can tell me about it while I take care of those scratches." Rhia said. She stood and slid her arms into the sleeves of his robe. "I'll be right back." Before he could tell her not to worry about them, she was already coming back.

"You don't have to," Harry started.

"Take off what's left of your shirt Harry," Rhia said, setting a bowl of water and a cloth on an ottoman near the couch.

"What?" Harry asked. His eyebrows shot up.

"I can't very well tend those scratches if I can't see them," Rhia remarked. Ka'lina whirred with dannikit laughter as Harry pulled the shirt off over his head.

"And what are you laughing at?" Harry wanted to know. "You let her scratch me."

"She thinks it's funny that we wear clothes at all," Rhia said as she wet the cloth.

"That would certainly make life," Harry looked at her. "Wait. How do you know that?"

Rhia focused on cleaning the thin bloody lines on his chest. "Well when I've been an Agoradan, or any animal really, and come back to my own form, I find clothes to be a bit annoying. Mine change with me thankfully, but when I'm in animal form, I can appreciate the increased agility available without clothes."

"Couldn't that be the forms themselves, rather than the lack of clothing?" Harry asked. He knew he was blushing, but hoped she wouldn't be able to tell in the dim light.

"Possibly," Rhia said, flashing him a small smile. "Could you make some light for me please? I don't want to miss anything."

"Oh sure," Harry concentrated and the lightning in his fingers flickered to life. 

"What's this bruise from?" She asked suddenly, touching his ribs with a fingertip.

"Quidditch practice. Dived right into a Bludger." Harry said. "It barely hurts."

"Oh that's good." Rhia said softly.

"You said your clothes change with you… but what happens to your Shard?" Harry asked. "I've never asked before… nor have I noticed it when you do change."

"Oh well if I concentrate, it changes with me. Becomes sort of like a part of me I suppose. Having it hidden beneath my shirt makes it even easier. You're bleeding a little bit more now. I'm really sorry about this."

"What are you apologizing for? She brought me home with these scratches."

"That's right, you were going to tell me about this dream/vision of yours." Rhia said. She pressed the cloth to the one scratch that was still bleeding. And so he told her.

"You said he called her Liliana?" Rhia asked when he finished. The water in the bowl was tinged pink, and the cloth now balled in Rhia's fist.

"Yes. It was strange. The others called her his favorite, yet when she looked at me," Harry paused.

"She looked at you? But I thought this was a dream Harry." Rhia said.

"It was. I have a connection with Voldemort because of my scar. Whenever he's feeling excited or angry, I sort of link up with him. No one has ever looked at me before. But that woman… Liliana… she saw me. But instead of exclaiming… or bringing attention to that… she… well," 

"What Harry?" 

"She was crying. Strange for a Death-eater… but her eyes… one green and one blue by the way… She looked like she was about to cry." Harry frowned. "And he hadn't even cursed her yet." 

"He cursed his own people for thinking we are dangerous…" Her eyes glinted fiercely. " He has no idea. Then she asked, "The other woman… Lucius' pet, did you see her?" 

"No. But I'm pretty sure that was Desiree. And that they were talking about that storm of hers." Harry said.

"That was almost a month ago Harry… why would they just now be talking about it?" Rhia asked.

"I don't know. But she hasn't attacked since then. In fact we've had a relatively quiet month… Serpent-wise that is. Maybe they were doing other things and just now got around to it… or it was a flashback dream." Harry sighed. "These dreams aren't really reliable. I just don't know."

"But you're sure that he called her Liliana?" Rhia asked.

"Positive. Why? Do you know who she is?" Harry asked. 

"What? No, I've never heard of anyone by that name before." She frowned into the fire for a moment. 

"What's wrong? Does this mean he has a Death-eater we don't know about?" Harry asked.

Rhia blinked and swallowed again. "Blessed Hell. I just don't know." She waved at his hand. "I don't need that anymore if you don't." He closed it and the room was dark again, but for the dim firelight. He picked up his discarded shirt and put it back on. 

She stared at him. "We should probably go back to bed. Potions in the morning."

"Yeah, we probably should." Harry responded. Neither moved. Ka'lina was asleep on the arm of the sofa. He reached for Rhia's hand and gently took the crumpled cloth from it. In doing so, his fingers brushed her scar. A tremor went up her arm. "Are you still cold?" he asked.

"No… I just… residual jolt from the… from you." Rhia said. "Your shirt is ruined. I should get you a new one." She touched one of the torn edges.

"It's just a pajama shirt, don't worry about it." Harry said. He tapped the tip of her nose. "Believe me, I've worn shirts that are in worse shape than this to school before." He smiled at her as he put the cloth in the bowl, then gave her hand a squeeze. "Sleep well Rhia."

"You too Harry. Sweet dreams," she smiled a bit at his expression. "Goodnight." He scooped up Ka'lina. She whirred sleepily. Rhia waited until the Harry was safely up the stairs and out of sight before diving for the tapestry door. She stumbled into warm darkness. "Wake up Rose. I think Shannon is in trouble."


	25. Chapter 25

"Blessed Hell Rhia," exclaimed a muffled voice. "It's," there was a flicker of light in the darkness as Rose looked at the clock with a flaming fingertip. "Two o'clock in the bloody morning!" Rhia snuck a candle towards that flicker and lit it. Through a spell in the candle, every other one in the room burst into flame at the same time, bringing brilliant light to the room. "For Merlin's sake!" Rose sat up, her eyes shooting green sparks at her sister. 

The former supply closet was actually quite elegantly appointed in scarlet and gold. It was large enough for two full sized beds, two oak armoires and two bookshelves. "Shannon is in trouble Rose." Rhia said firmly. 

"Shannon? What? How do you know?" The green faded to gray.

"Harry dreamt of her," Rhia began. "She was speaking to Voldemort about Desiree."

"And what did they say?" Rose asked. "Sit down." She pulled her feet up and Rhia sat on the bed.

"She's managed to become his favorite. I don't know how. She was actually complaining to him about Lucius and Desiree. Apparently, her attack on the school and the twins a month ago was not a planned one," Rhia said.

"That puts us in trouble, not her. If they're doing things without her knowledge, then she can't warn Moira." Rose said.

"That's not all. Before I managed to wake Harry, Voldemort was using Unforgivable Curses on everyone," Rhia continued. "If he does that sort of thing around her or to her often… then we are in trouble. You know how she is." 

"Yes. I know." Rose paused. "However, there is nothing we can do about that at the moment. Even if there was, I wouldn't." 

"You must be joking. Our sister is in pain and in danger and you will do nothing!" Rhia exclaimed. Her eyes glimmered with a silver light.

Green crept back into Rose's eyes. She glared at Rhia. "Anything we do now would only make the situation worse for her and for us. If she is discovered before we are ready… I don't want to think about what could happen." Rose stopped and closed her eyes a moment. When she opened them again, they were a solid steely gray. "You should go back to sleep Rhia. Tomorrow is a busy day. You've got the Dueling Club as well as your other classes."

"Then there really is nothing we can do?" Rhia asked softly.

They sat in silence for a moment. "There might, I stress the word might, be something we can attempt. But not until after breakfast at the very least… and even then we have to speak with Dumbledore about it first. Now get to bed."

"I can't. The door is shut and a girl cannot open it." Rhia replied.

"So sleep in your own bed for once. It's such a lovely one to go to waste like it is." Rose said with a smile and a wave towards the other bed.

But what about Harry?" Rhia asked. "I had to scratch his chest horribly to wake him from that dream."

"Ka'lina is smart. She knows what to do." Rose said. "Besides, isn't Starlight with Ron?"

"Actually, no. I'm not sure where she is." Rhia said.

"Wonderful. We have one sister under threat and the other M.I.A." Rose sighed. "Don't worry. Harry will be fine. Get some sleep." Rhia stood up and paced the room a couple of times before heading for the other bed. Rose grinned suddenly. "Are you wearing his robe?"

"What? Oh. Yes. I forgot to give it back to him." Rhia said as she pulled back the bedclothes.

"He lent you his robe?" Rose asked, a hint of laughter in her voice.

"It was cold in the Common Room," Rhia muttered.

"What exactly did you two do in the Common Room?" Rose's laughter was obvious now. Her eyes were a curious mix of gray and blue.

Rhia carefully hung Harry's robe on the bedpost. "He was telling me his dream while I tended to his scratches."

"And you had scratched him on the chest, right?" Rose laughed. "So of course he had his shirt off…" Rhia was blushing furiously as she blew out the candle beside her bed. The others went out as well. "I wonder what else you two talked about?" Rose said, still chuckling. Rhia squeaked. "What was that sister dear?"

"I said, 'Goodnight Rose,'" Rhia managed. Rose giggled, but didn't say anything else. Her breathing soon evened into sleep. Rhia however spent quite some time tossing and turning. Until, during one of those turns, her flung out arm touched flannel. She gave the cloth a tug and Harry's robe fell onto the bed beside her. She fell asleep with the soft cloth pressed to her cheek.

*

Harry came awake in an instant. He stared at the canopy above the bed, remembering. Ka'lina was practically wrapped around his head. Her front paws rested on his scar. There was no pain in it now. He looked over at his clock. He'd awoken about two minutes before the alarm was set to go off. He stretched out a hand and canceled the alarm. Then reached up and picked up Ka'lina. She whirred happily as he placed her on his chest. "Morning sweetie," He whispered, stroking her. "I've got a job for you now." The kit whirred as he murmured his command. With a trill and a swish of her tail, she leaped through the drapes around the bed. A moment later there was an answering trill, followed shortly thereafter by a muffled oath. Harry grinned.

Ron pushed aside Harry's drapes. "All right what's up mate?" he asked, only slightly exasperated.

Harry grinned again. It still amazed him that no matter what was going on, be it going into the forest after giant spiders, competing in a dangerous tournament, or on the Quidditch pitch, Ron was there for him. "I wanted to talk to you before the others woke up."

"Shoot," Ron said. "Wait, do I need to sit down for this?"

"I don't know. I dreamed of Voldemort last night," Harry said.

Ron shuddered. "Sitting down it is then." He sat on the edge of the bed. "All right. And?"

"Well he was speaking with a woman about Desiree's storm, and how it wasn't planned correctly. Then he started cursing everyone." Harry said.

"Cursing his own people. Boy he's a cheerful fellow." Ron muttered.

"That wasn't all. When he started cursing them, the woman looked at me. She saw me Ron. I know she did." Harry said.

"I thought you said it was a dream." Ron said, frowning.

"It was. There's more. She was crying, or was about to. He hadn't even gotten to her yet." Harry said. "He was pointing his wand at her when I woke up with a searing pain in my scar and chest."

Ron looked at his chest. "Are you all right?" He paused. Squinted. "Bloody birds of menace. What happened there?" He pointed to Harry's torn shirt.

"Shadow woke me up by scratching me. I'm fine though. Rhia took care of the scratches." Harry said.

"You talked to her before you talked to me? I'm offended mate." Ron said with a grin. Fianna climbed, whirring onto his lap. He scratched her chin.

"Would you rather I had woken you up at 1:30 in the morning to tell you about a weird dream I had?" Harry asked.

"Ugh no. Thanks for letting me sleep. So when did you see Rhia?" Ron asked.

"Well I kind of tossed Shadow off the bed after she woke me up, so I went to look for her to make sure she was okay. I went down to the Common Room, no Shadow, but Rhia was sitting on the couch watching the fire. So we talked. I told her about my dream and she took care of the scratches." Harry explained. "Then I came back to bed. I forgot to change my shirt obviously, before falling back to sleep."

"So, what does Rhia sleep in?" Ron asked flippantly. Harry narrowed his eyes. "I know you noticed man."

Before Harry could reply, Andra trilled from across the room, joined shortly by the other dannikits. The other boys started to stir, shushing their kits and getting out of bed. Harry looked at the clock. "Breakfast is in forty minutes." He and Ron quickly joined the morning rush.

*

"Are you ready to go yet?" Rose asked. "We've got to get to the Headmaster before breakfast if we want time to eat and speak with Snape."

"I can't believe we're going to ask Snape for help." Rhia muttered, running her fingers through her damp hair.

"We're only going to do that if Dumbledore says we may, even then he may have to do it himself since, well, we are sort of students." Rose said.

"What are you taking about? I am a student. How is he going to help us exactly?" Rhia asked. She spritzed on some peach body spray, and picked up her bag.

"That's another thing we have to discuss with Dumbledore. I can't believe you can do nothing with your hair and it looks fine." Rose said.

"Fine? My hair looks great. Want some help?" Rhia asked. She put her bag back down.

"I've been braiding my own hair for quite some time Rhiannon," Rose muttered.

"Sure you have, but isn't it nice when someone else does it?" Rhia asked as she slapped Rose's hands away from the braid. "Why do you have it in a braid all the time anyway?' 

"Because I'm a student teacher and I have to look respectable." Rose said as she waited for Rhia to finish braiding her hair. "What are you doing? That doesn't feel like a braid."

"You don't have to look like Mother to be respectable." Rhia said. "It's a braid. I promise you'll like it." They sat in silence for a moment. "Cora doesn't even wear her hair in a braid and she [I] is [/I]] a teacher."

"Cora doesn't have hair like mine. I leave my hair down and it goes wild," Rose said.

"Has George ever seen your hair down?" Rhia asked.

"No he hasn't," Rose said, "and what does that have to do with anything?"

"Not a thing," Rhia said. "There, I'm done."

"Great, let's go," Rose said.

"Don't you want a look at it first?" Rhia asked.

"I trust that you would never do anything awful to me right before we see the Headmaster, so let's go already." Rose said. She picked up her bag and Vestan's carry box. Rhia picked up her bag again and they headed into the empty Common Room.

*

Hermione gave Crookshanks one last pat, picked up her bag, as well as Nildur's box, and headed for the doorway. She'd spent most of the night in her little parlor, trying to decipher the Book. She'd gotten a bit of it, maybe, but not enough to be able to give any new information to the group. She hadn't even found a remedy for Draco's malady. That really bothered her. His Memories came less frequently now then they had a month ago, but they still came, with little or no warning. Hermione knew that both Monica and Rhia could read the signs of one fairly well though, and could either distract the other students, or get him away from them before he disclosed too much. 

Nildur trilled at her. She smiled and swept passed the beds of her sleeping roommates, her kit following closely. She knew they only had forty minutes until breakfast, but it wasn't her fault if they didn't set an alarm. On second thought… At the doorway, Hermione turned and with her free hand, she pointed her wand at the clock beside Parvati's bed, and muttered something under her breath. A green spark flew from her wand to the clock. The loudest, most obnoxious beeping filled the air, like the ringing of a thousand pagers going off at once. Hermione smiled at that decidedly Muggle observation and disappeared out the door before she got any pillows thrown at her by the waking girls.


	26. Chapter 26

*

In another part of the school, the Emmortal twins were getting ready for the day. They were alone in their bathroom, having won first dibs in a game of Exploding Snap the night before. Reggie was blow-drying her hair, simply by pointing at it and Lynne was drying the water from her face without the use of a towel when one of the other girls knocked on the door. Reggie stilled the air and Lynne sent dancing water droplets back to the sink. A moment later they strolled out of the bathroom, completely ready for the day. The other girls hurried for the bathroom as the twins picked up their bags. Lynne bit her lip. "Reggie, I don't think we should do that again for a while. I think Suzanne is getting suspicious. We should either lose some games or, stop playing them all together."

Reggie sighed. "I suppose you're right. But it's such good precision practice." She twisted a lock of hair around her finger.

"Reggie…" Lynne warned. 

"Oh, all right. No more private bathroom practice sessions for us," Reggie replied. "So do we lose the games or decline to play?"

"That's up for debate," Lynne said with a grin. They and their kits headed for the Raven's Nest.

Monica was sitting in one of the blue armchairs, staring out the window. "Morning girls," she said with a glance in their direction.

"What are you looking at?" Reggie asked.

"I was watching Snuffles and Starlight. They just went into the Forbidden Forest." Monica said, still staring out the window.

"What?! Why would they do something like that?" Lynne exclaimed, rushing over.

"I don't know. I just watched them do it," Monica said with a grin at the younger girl.

"But it's daylight. If someone sees a big black Grim and a black cat sauntering off together, they might get suspicious. Why is he taking a cat into the forest?" Reggie wondered. 

"Again, I don't know. Are you two going to wait for you brother, or do you want to come with me? I've got to meet Draco and then go to breakfast."

"We should probably wait for Daniel. Draco isn't known for his fondness of first years," Lynne said.

"If someone sees him acting chummy with us…" Reggie added.

"You're right. The suspicion factor once again," Monica sighed. "I forget sometimes what Draco must have been like before I met him. I guess I'll see you at breakfast then." She patted Ikarus and Anondir then headed for the door. "Oops, forgot my scarf. I don't want to go back upstairs for it… I really want to avoid Cho." Monica muttered.

"Just get one of the spares from the closet there by the door," Lynne suggested. She and Reggie headed for the couch to sit and wait.

"Good idea," Monica said. "Thanks." She opened the closet door and stared inside. After a stunned moment, she grabbed a scarf and shut the door again.

"Did you find one?" Reggie asked. She was dangling her scarf for Ikarus to swat at.

"Um…. Yes I did… You know, I think you two should come with me to breakfast. Draco can find his own way to the Great Hall," Monica said. She looked over at the girls. Her violet eyes were sparkling with humor. "Well are you coming?" Shrugging, the twins followed her out the door.

A few moments later, Phantom jumped out from behind a curtain and Segan climbed out from under a chair. Both kits, whirring with dannikit laughter, went to the closet door and scratched at it. It opened slowly. A slightly rumpled Daniel stepped out. He reached back in and helped a rosy-cheeked Ana into the Common Room. Daniel cleared his throat, but Ana spoke first. "Perhaps… hiding in the coat closet wasn't such a good idea after all."

"I panicked," he replied. His blue eyes twinkled at her. "As I recall, so did you. When you heard Monica on the stairs your eyes got huge. It was very cute."

"Well, we had no idea who was coming down the stairs at the time. It would have been difficult to explain the fact that we were sleeping on the couch." Ana said. She started to smooth her hair.

"We were talking last night and you fell asleep on my arm. I didn't want to wake you up, so I fell asleep too." Daniel said. He grinned. "That probably would have worked."

"Well you definitely took advantage of the situation," Ana said, looking at him. One corner of her mouth went up in a half-smile.

"I had a beautiful girl trapped in a dark closet with me. What should I have done?" he asked. She just looked at him, that half-smile still on her face. He smiled at her. "When you look at me like that your eyes look like chocolate." Her cheeks went rosy again.

"It's too early in the day for chocolate. I'll meet you back here in ten minutes to go down to breakfast," Ana said briskly.

"Okay," Daniel said. Ana started up the stairs. "Just so you know, I like chocolate any time day or night." Daniel called after her.

*

Draco was tired. He'd been wracking his brain for half the night about the theft of the Phoenix book. The same thing he'd been doing for a month. Unfortunately, none of the Memories that he'd fallen into in the presence of others that could interpret had been about that night. He knew that Hermione was looking for a remedy in her Book, even though she hadn't told him. He was grateful, especially since she wasn't exactly supposed to be helping him.

"What is it Goyle?" he snapped at the muttering lummox.

"Ravenclaw," he said simply.

"What about her?" Malfoy asked, frowning at the two hulks in front of him.

"She's from another house," Crabbe said.

"Wow, Crabbe. A full sentence. I amazed. Of course I know that you idiot," Malfoy sneered.

"American," Goyle added.

"So bloody what?" Malfoy asked.

Crabbe gulped. "Father," he grunted.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes at them. "You imbeciles. Now I'm going to speak slowly, so I can be sure that you understand." He waited until they nodded. "If either of you ever presume to advise me about my girl, or my father again, you will be completely ostracized." They looked at one another, confused. Malfoy growled low in his throat. "I'll never speak to you again," he hissed.

The two great lumps looked positively stricken. Malfoy smiled snidely. "Now if you two down get out of my way and to the Great Hall, I'm going to hex you into next," They were gone. For two such large boys, they could move quickly when provoked.

Alone in the Snake Pit, Draco sighed. He hated this double life of his. Almost as much as he hated the fact that until a month ago, it hadn't been one.

*

Back in the Gryffindor Common Room, the Quidditch team was setting up their practice times. They would have the pitch that afternoon, directly after the Slytherin team. The practices were not closed because of Rose's slow but sure mingling of the houses, so they could observe the other team without penalty. However this was also true for the other teams as well, so any special moves had to be discussed and practiced during specially scheduled sessions. That's what they were doing now. Everyone was trying to get the sessions set up when they had the freest time. Angelina, the newly elected Captain was nearly ready to scream and they all knew it. They quieted down as an awed group of first years walked past. One young boy was so dazzled by the nearness of the team that when he realized he was standing next to Harry Potter, he had to be lead away by one of the others in the group. Both of them ended up running into a wall because they were so busy gawking. With a laugh, Ginny helped them both up and ushered them all out the door.

"Can we hurry it up already?" Ron asked. "I'm starving."

Angelina scowled. "Since you are our newest member and a relative of two members, I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

"Please don't pretend that Angelina," George complained. "We're all starving."

"Well, Fred, this is very difficult. I have four members that are unable to practice on Sundays because of a class, we've all got Dueling Club at various times throughout the week, we have to schedule around the other teams as well and Slytherin keeps grabbing our times. We have our first match in less than a month. Ravenclaw plays Slytherin this weekend. I don't know about any of you, but I want that cup this year. Wood owls me once a week to ask how we're doing. He wants us to win it almost as much now as he did when he was Captain. When do you suggest we practice?" Angelina asked sharply.

"How about this afternoon after Dueling Club?" Harry suggested. "I don't have anything else. We can discuss some more sessions then. Right now, if we don't hurry, we'll miss breakfast."

"Does that work for everyone?" Alicia asked. They all nodded. She turned to Angelina. "There we go. We're all set."

Angelina sighed. "Maybe we should have made Harry captain."

Harry blanched. "No thank you," he said, shaking his head vehemently. "You're doing a fine job." 

"A fine job," Fred said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Now, let's go eat." They headed out the door. Harry looked back at the tapestry door twice before he shut the portrait behind them.

*

Neville was going to be late to Potions. He'd somehow managed to get tangled in the drapes around his bed after the others had gone down. He'd just managed to get free and now he didn't have time for breakfast if he wanted to get to Potions. Snape was going to be particularly nasty if he was tardy. Having a coherent class session after that awfulness was impossible for him. He was certain to blow something up during the practical portion. He hurriedly fastened his robes as he descended the stairs. Oh who was he kidding? It was nearly guaranteed that he would blow something up in there, regardless.

His stomach growled loudly followed by a dannikit trill. It wasn't Andra because she was in her box. It came from the bottom of the stairs. Erian was sitting there staring up at him. Neville paused. If the kit was there, then his companion couldn't be far away. He continued down the stairs, checking his hair in the gold frame of a portrait as he passed. The distorted view didn't help much.

Ginny appeared as he reached the last step. "Good morning Neville," she said cheerily.

"G- Good morning Ginny," Neville managed. 

"I didn't see you at breakfast, so I came up to check and see if you had decided to skip classes for the day," she explained, grinning at the thought of Neville skipping class.

He looked horror-struck yet momentarily hopeful at the thought. "No. Potions this morning. I'm running late."

"We can't have you going to that particular class starving. That would make it worse. I brought you something." Ginny said. She held out a pale pink hanky-wrapped bundle.

"Errr... thanks," he mumbled, the thought of her knowing of his incompetence making his cheeks flush.

"You are very welcome. I'll see you later Neville. Have a good day," Ginny said smiling at him. Before he could respond, she kissed his cheek and hurried back through the portrait.

"You too Ginny," Neville whispered long after she was gone. Andra trilled happily in her box. Neville stared at the bundle in his hand. Unwrapping it he discovered two pancakes with strawberry jam spread between them. Andra trilled louder this time. Neville ate the pancakes quickly, but carefully folded the pink hanky and tucked it into his pocket. He glanced up at the clock in the Common Room then. "I'm late!" he yelled dashing for the portrait. Andra muttered something at him from in her box. It was probably a good thing he couldn't understand it.

*

Professor Snape was late. As far as Ron knew, it had never happened before. He glanced at Neville's empty chair. Merlin help him if he got here after a tardy Snape. Draco was frowning at his former bodyguards. They were practically quaking in their seats. Ron smirked. He couldn't help it. He might not like Malfoy, but the guy definitely had a difficult time ahead of him. Of course that didn't excuse what he had done to Fianna… but he was willing to let that slide as long as the Slytherin didn't have a relapse of conscience. Neville crept into the room silently.

"Hurry up Nev," Ron whispered. Neville threw him a startled and slightly guilty look.

"I didn't… I," Neville started.

"What are you talking about Neville?" Harry asked.

"Uh… nothing. I thought I was going to be late. That's all." Neville said with a final wary glance at Ron. Ron frowned in confusion.

"You are late Longbottom," Draco said coldly as the Slytherins snickered. 

Then the missing Professor Snape swept into the room. Without a single glance at the students, he ordered them to open their books to page 213 in their textbooks and copy down the recipe for Silent Night. The tense situation faded as the scratching of quills filled the air. After a few moments of this, Rhia arrived. She silently took her seat across the aisle from Draco, and prepared to copy the recipe with the others.

"Miss Jameson," Snape's voice cracked through the air at her.

"Yes Professor?" Rhia responded.

"I would love to hear your excuse for your tardiness," Snape said.

"I don't have one Professor," Rhia said, her voice calm.

"Mr. Weasley," Snape said with icy fury. "Since you seem to have completed the assignment, perhaps you could tell the class what the most vital ingredient for a Silent Night potion is."

Ron blinked at him for a moment. He knew something was off about what had just happened, but he couldn't say what. "It's Belladonna Professor," he said.

Snape smiled creepily. "Mr. Malfoy, tell Mr. Weasley why he just lost 10 points for his house."

"Belladonna is the main ingredient Professor," Draco said, "but the dried root of Deadly Nightshade is the most vital." 

"Thank you Malfoy, 10 points to Slytherin." 

The class continued in that vein, the usual, with one exception. Snape completely ignored Rhia. He just didn't acknowledge her. Which was strange, since he had tried to find fault with her American magic training since the very first class she had attended? Ron saw him look directly at her only once. He was praising something Draco had done and had looked over at her. He got the strangest look on his face. An odd mixture of fear, loathing and hope, intertwined with hatred. Ron looked at Harry to see if he had caught it too. Harry was watching Rhia, but he was managing to do it in such a way that he managed to take his notes as well. Ron smiled to himself. Probably from a month of practice. He returned to the task at hand. Preparing to brew a Silent Night.


	27. Chapter 27

"I didn't realize that fifth year potions would be such dangerous ones," Hermione said as they climbed up the stairs from the dungeons.

"I thought you always read the book through before the first day," Ron said. "I know you were certainly reading something after our trip to Diagon Alley."

"The Burrow is many wonderful things Ron," Harry commented, "but a good place to study it is definitely not." Ron grinned and nodded. He knew Harry felt a little left out after an entire summer spent at the Dursley's, but Dumbledore had explained the danger of the situation in letters to them all summer. They had kept in close contact as well. With the new revelations about their pasts and futures, it made even more sense, in the grand scheme of things. But that didn't mean Harry had to feel good about being left out all summer. Understanding was easy. Dealing with it was an entirely different matter.

"Something's up with him anyway," Ron said suddenly.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"Did you notice that Snape made no effort to crush or otherwise draw negative attention to Rhia even after she came in late?" Ron asked.

"I noticed that he asked you about the recipe as if to distract from her comment," Harry said.

"I couldn't believe she said that to a Professor," Hermione said, "even Snape."

"What do you think was her real reason?" Ron asked.

"It probably had something to do with last night," Harry muttered as they continued towards the DADA classroom.

"Oh right," Ron said.

At the same time, Hermione asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'll tell everyone when we get to our Sacred Flame class," Harry said. Ron grinned at the code name for their Guardian training.

Hermione frowned. "Okay. Did you see Rhia leave Potions?"

"No," Harry answered simply.

That obviously worried him. She had Ancient Runes with Malfoy next. "Monica is in there too," Ron reminded him. "She'll be fine."

Harry grinned at him. "I know," he paused, stroking Ka'lina. "I just get the feeling that my dream has triggered something. I don't think it will be quiet around here for much longer."

"We wouldn't want to become bored, now would we?" Ron quipped. Hermione smiled in spite of herself, even as she shook her head ruefully. Harry laughed. They entered the DADA classroom.

The Ancient Runes classroom was just above the dungeons. Not very far by any account, but far enough to get away from the damp and cold that plagued them. The Runes room might have been better served up near the library, but that would not have worked for Professor Peltier. He and Madame Pince had an agreement. He would stay as far away from her as being on staff at the same school allowed… and she wouldn't hex him into next week. So, Draco and Rhia only had to climb one set of stairs after Potions. Not together of course, but she was right behind him.

Draco scowled over his shoulder at Rhia. If she didn't get further away from him, then he was going to have to snipe at her, to keep up appearances. Her cool gray eyes merely stared at him as she raised her eyebrows. Then he smelled lilacs and turned to see Monica smiling at him from inside the classroom. He ignored Rhia then and took his seat next to the Ravenclaw girl.

Professor Peltier appeared in the front of the classroom with a flourish of his dark maroon robes. "Bonjour mes petits choux. We are going to be looking at Ogham runes from Ireland. They've been found over the course of thousands of years, in the druid circles and other ancient locations across that island country."

"Professor, you were speaking about the runes found in Greece in the last session," Monica said with a smile.

Peltier executed a perfect Gallic shrug. "Oublier d'il mademoiselle. Eh… how do you say… Forget about it. We are going to look at the Ogham now. Merci."

With a wave of his wand, Peltier projected the picture from the book into life-size on the wall. The rune was carved in dark gray stone, in a cave or underground place of some sort. "Can anyone tell me what this rune means?"

"That is a reference to the Wind Professor," Blaise Zabini said from the back of the room.

"Oui," Professor Peltier exclaimed. "Now why would there be such a large representation of the Wind in a place such as this?"

"That's the Cavern of the Winds. It's a place of power," Draco answered. His voice was cold and his body stiff. Monica looked at him sharply, then over at Rhia. Draco's face looked carved from marble. The usual look that preceded a Memory from the distant past.

"Oui Monsieur Malfoy! The ancient druids did call it the Cavern of the Winds. It was thought to be a source of great magic. There are many places around the world that are such. Several can be found in Ireland. Augureys or Irish Phoenixes nest in that area because of the abundance of fairies that can be found there. Can anyone tell me"

"Excusez-moi Professor," Rhia interrupted then proceeded to let loose a stream of questions in rapid-fire French. During this rather distracting deluge, Monica escorted an blank-eyed Draco from the classroom.

One minute Draco was answering Peltier with information he wasn't sure how he knew, and the next…

_'Of course it's a source of power,' someone sneered, 'this is where Wind and Water failed after the last Gathering.'_

_'If they failed, then how is it that that line still exists?' he felt him self reply._

_'Because they were weak then, as they always are. They tried alone the fools. They did not have the Heart to kill the Master.'_

_'That does not explain why that power is here, nor why you brought me here.'_

_'Zacharias my son, I brought you here because we must prepare it for the Return.'_

_'Will it come in our lifetime then?'_

_'Only the Book knows that, and we don't have it, thanks to those stupid interfering females… But we must be prepared just the same.'_

_'Why this place?'_

_'Because He was cast out of here once long ago, and he doesn't like unfinished tasks. He wants his stronghold where they failed. This is one of the many Magic centers in this world, and will be a source of power for him as they thought it would be for them.'_

_'So the Return will not come in your lifetime, nor mine.'_

_'But it may… in your son's.'_

_'I have no son.'_

_'But you will Zacharias. You will.'_

"Draco?" Monica asked. "Are you with me yet?"

Draco blinked at her. "What happened?"

"Memory. An odd one I'd guess. Your hands are like ice." Monica said. She looked down at his hands, they were practically blue with cold. They stood in the hall outside the Runes classroom, a place that had to be kept warm to protect some of the ancient artifacts Professor Peltier had. "Are you all right now?" She took his cold hands in hers and tried to warm them.

"I remember it." Draco said softly.

"What? But it wasn't one from this lifetime," Monica said. "You spoke with an accent."

"Irish. This one was from my grandfather. I only met him once. But I know his voice. I spoke with it. My great-grandfather spoke to him… me. In the Cavern of the Winds." Draco said.

"Okay… this is good. You remember the Memory. That's an improvement." She looked into his blue eyes. "Isn't it?"

"They were planning even then for the Serpent's Return," Draco murmured.

"Then maybe you know their plans… maybe they will help. So it is a good thing." Monica said. She smiled softly at him.

"He was such an evil man Monica. I could feel it, practically seething through his blood. [I] My [/I] blood." Draco said.

"This is not the place to discuss this," Monica said tensely. Draco stared at her as she looked around quickly. She released one of his hands and he felt the absence of her warmth like a knife. He started to pull his other hand away, but her grip tightened. He started to snarl at her to let go of him, but then he saw what she was doing.

Monica had pulled out her wand. She appeared to be drawing a door on the wall next to where they stood. When she finished she muttered a spell of some sort. And the door opened. "What the devil…?" Draco asked.

Monica flashed him a smile. "Told you California magic was different. Come with me." She tugged him towards her.

"What is this?" he asked.

"My broom closet," Monica said with a lop-sided grin.

"Your… broom closet."

"Yes. We can talk in private in here," Monica told him as they stepped inside.

"You have your own broom closet." Draco stated, looking around. There were two upturned buckets in the middle of the floor, three brooms and a mop leaning against one wall. Before closing the door, Monica reached up and pulled a cord hanging from the ceiling. A soft glow filled the little room, source unseen. The door shut with a click. She smiled at him and nodded. "So where are we exactly? Still off the Runes hallway or…. Somewhere else, like the Guardian classroom?"

"I… don't really know. I do know that this is mine, and only I can get into it." Monica said.

"Why not spruce up the contents then?" Draco said, staring at the buckets. "perhaps something more comfortable…?"

Monica grinned. "Sit down They're not quite what they seem."

"Nothing is." Draco said. They sat. It was like sitting in the best armchair ever… without seeing it. "How…"

"It's mine, I can do what I want with it." Monica said. " Now Draco I'd like to pick up where we left off." Draco merely looked at her and said nothing. "You are not evil. I don't believe you ever were, not really."

"But I was. I told you all the things I did," Draco said. "It's in my blood."

"That was his blood Draco. Not yours regardless of the fact that it was a Memory." Monica said earnestly. "You are good. Or you would not be a Guardian."

"A single evil person can turn the whole Stone bad…" Draco said.

"That's not true. That could only occur if the Heart were evil and Harry has that. You are not Evil." Monica said again.

"I might be…" Draco started.

Monica huffed and blew her hair off her forehead. She leaned forward and took both his hands in hers, as she had in the hall. "Do you think I am evil?" She asked seriously.

"Of course not!" Draco exclaimed.

"Why?" Monica asked.

"Because… because you are you… You're a Healer." Draco said. " Healers can't be evil."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Positive," Draco said. "You wouldn't be able to do what you do if you were evil."

Monica smiled. "Dragons aren't evil either. They only do what they do to survive. As you have done." She reached up touched his shoulder, where she knew the tip of one wing of the dragon mark rested. He went utterly still staring at her. She'd memorized the scarred markings on his back enough to know their shape. He was stunned. She knew it. Her smile grew and her violet eyes took on a flirtatious sparkle. "Now that we've settled that serious issue, what do you say we make good use out of this broom closet?"

What had come to be called the Sacred Flame classroom was now quite crowded with props and areas set up for practicing. The original circle of chairs was still in the center of the room, but it had somehow been compressed so that it didn't take up as much room. Even with the portal to the clearing, they had to store their equipment in this room and upon occasion had to stay out of the forest anyway.

Neville had a mini greenhouse in the windowbox. Hermione had taken over an entire book shelf with various reference sources. Monica and Draco had a small medical potions lab in one corner. Ginny had set up an area where she could play with the dannikits and any other animals they borrowed from around the school. There was currently a fire salamander in the fireplace. Only Rose could handle him at the moment, but Ginny was gaining his trust every time she wore her yellow robe. The weapons, Harry's rods and the Pheonix daggers all had their own little niches in the walls around the room. Lynne's water tank and Reggie's feathers were in another corner, along with Ana's rocks and boulders. Ana had a larger collection now, having learned all she could from the orignal ones provided, she was trying to expand. Rose's midnight bombs were there as well. Close to the water tank and far from the fireplace. Just in case the salamander got frisky.

They began arriving and what had once been a quiet room quickly erupted with the cheerful noise of fifteen students. Rose and the other seventh years were first, having been in Charms together. The fifth years followed behind, having just come from a short Dueling club meeting. Then came Ginny and the little twins. As soon as everyone was present, Rhia nodded to Harry to tell his dream. They settled into what had almost become routine in deciphering Draco's Memories, listening intently and preparing questions or comments to make. When he finished, they were silent and thoughtful for a time.


	28. Truth or Dare?

"So the storm attack wasn't planned," Reggie said.

"And all it really did was show us what we could do," Lynne added.

"We'd better watch out for this Liliana woman," Ron said. "If she's his favorite, there's no telling what she might do."

Rose and Rhia shared a look. "That's true," Rose said. She winked at Harry. " You keep an eye on her."

Harry quirked a half smile at her. "Sure," he said.

Draco spoke up then. "If she's replaced my… my father as the favorite… then we'd better keep an eye out for him as well. He'll be here this weekend for the game." No one said anything to that.

Harry cleared his throat. "I'm almost convinced that she sensed me somehow though. She looked directly at me."

"But you werent' really there," Reggie said. "Were you?"

"Some people know when they are being watched." Draco said. "That may be all it was."

"Either way, Snape is going to check it out the next time he must do so." Rhia said.

"That explains his odd behavior then," Ron said, "partially at least."

"He was a bit distracted, wasn't he?" Draco said. "You only lost thirty points instead of the usual fifty." His trademark smirk made its appearance.

Ron smiled sarcastically and nodded. "Ha bloody ha," he managed. Draco grinned.

"Speaking of distraction," Monica said to avoid a possible confrontation. Though it had been a couple of weeks since anyone had been zinged by their Shards, they still had to be careful. "That was nicely done in Runes Rhia. I didn't know you spoke French."

"Yes," Rhia said. "We lived there for a time. What was Draco's Memory?"

"Why don't I let him tell you?" Monica said with a smile.

"You remember it?" Hermione exclaimed. Draco nodded. "That's brilliant!" she dived for her books. Ron shook his head and went to help her get a book larger than she was from the top shelf.

"So tell us already," Rose said. So he did.

When he finished, the little twins looked at one another. Lynne swallowed hard. "Wind and Water…"

"Failed," Reggie finished. She gripped her sister's hand.

"Because they were alone," Draco said. For just a moment his eyes went icy. " [I] You [/I] will not be alone." Something somewhere clicked into place. He blinked and his eyes were once again a crystal clear blue. Vestan yowled from his place in Rose's chair. Anondir and Ikarus leapt up from the cushions in Ginny's little area and sped for their mistresses, using Draco's shoulders as springboards.

Rose shook her head at the kits antics. "You said Peltier had a picture from inside the Cavern?"

Rhia nodded solemnly. "It wasn't just his picture either. It was from the textbook."

Rose sighed. "He'll be going there soon then."

"Who?" Neville asked. "Peltier?"

"Voldemort Nev," Ginny said, a very slight tremor in her voice.

Surprising everyone, Neville didn't flinch at the name. Instead he moved closer to Ginny and patted her arm. She smiled at him gratefully.

"Is that significant?" George asked, resolutely ignoring Neville and his little sister. "That he'll go there?"

"Yes." Hermione said in a stunned voice from her corner. Everyone looked over. She had the Book now. Ron, who was reading over her shoulder went pale. Hermione looked up, her brown eyes a bit vague before she focused back in on them.

"What is it?" Rhia asked.

"There's a prophecy here in the Book. I couldn't make sense of it before,"Hermione said. "But it fits together now." Her eyes were bright with knowledge and fear as she asked Draco, "In your Memory, they said the Serpent had been cast out of the Cavern, right?" Draco nodded. "Then…" She swallowed. Cleared her throat. "Listen to this." In her clear voice she read,

[I] "When what was Shattered is made whole,

When what was lost is found again,

When the Serpent has returned to the place that cast him out.

This is the day when Light shall rise to triumph,

Or fall forever into Darkness."[/I]

There was a heavy silence in the room when she finished.

" 'What was Shattered…' that refers to the Sunstone," Harry said, softly.

"How do we find what was lost if we don't know what it is?" Fred asked.

"I think you've missed the real issue here," Ana said. "That last line. When those other things come to pass, it's the final day. The last chance. If we fail then… we fall into Darkness. Forever."

"Blessed Hell," Rose said into the even heavier silence that followed Ana's quiet words. "We need the Headmaster." She walked quickly to what was now the Portal wall and summoned up the Headmaster's office. Luckily, they could see him at his desk through the portal and the doorway between the Atlantis room and his office. "Professor Dumbledore Sir?"

He looked up with a smile at the sudden interruption. "Yes, Miss Jameson?" His tone showing absolutely no reaction to the manner in which she had appeared.

"We need your guidance on an issue Sir," Rose said simply.

"Wonderful," the great man said, standing. As he came around the desk and towards them he said, "Arguing with the Ministry over how our funds are being distributed by owl no less, was getting tedious." With a bit of a wink and his trademark twinkle firmly in his blue eyes, he managed to calm them all as the portal closed behind him. "What is this issue?"

Then, voices calm and steady, Harry, Draco and Hermione told what they had seen, Remembered and found, respectively. Throughout it all, Dumbledore merely sat silently, sucking on a lemon drop. When they finished he asked the room at large, "What do you know of the Cavern of the Winds?"

"Combining what I know of the history of the Guardians and what I learned from Professor Peltier this morning, I know some," Rhia said. "It's an ancient source of magic from before the Shattering of the Sunstone and the Fall of Atlantis. The power there is at least as old as the Sunstone itself. Sometime after the last Gathering, a battle was fought there. A hurricane swept the Emerald Isle. Something that had never happened before in anyone's memory and hasn't since." She paused and looked at the little twins.

'The Serpent was there trying to tap into the power of the place. Wind and Water found him there. There must not have been time to summon any of the others. When they realized they could not defeat him on their own, they cast him out of the Cavern and into the sea. Earth and the Blade found them there, exhausted, but all right. Earth used what was left of the hurricane weather to help tear the coastline and hide the Cavern."

"My great-grandfather found it and my family has been making it ready for the Serpent ever since." Draco said.

Dumbledore finished his second lemon drop with a crunch. "It appears things are accelerating." He looked at them thoughtfully for a time. "If all this, the dream, the Memory and the discovery of the Prophecy occurred when you were apart… Imagine what could happen if the Shards were kept near each other for an extended amount of time."

"What do you mean, sir?" Daniel asked.

"I propose that you all remain here tonight," Dumbledore said.

"But… what about dinner?" Ron asked.

"There aren't any beds," Neville said.

"There's hardly room for 15 people to stay the night in here," Hermione said.

Harry cleared his throat to stop the babble. "I think it's a good idea," he said. He did not notice Rhia looking intently at him and then away. Harry went on, "We come back here after dinner, it never hurt anyone to sleep on the floor and I'm sure we'll have blankets. Hasn't anyone else noticed that no matter what we bring in here, there always seems to be plenty of room for it?"

Dumbledore smiled as they started making agreeable noises. "All right then," He said cheerfully, "I believe you all have classes shortly. Attend it as usual, as well as dinner," he winked at Ron. " Afterwards, Professor Jameson, Raine and myself will escort you here, so be prepared. Accommodations will be made for your sleeping arrangements."

"If people ask, how do we explain?" Daniel asked.

"Just tell them it's part of a project that you have to do at night," Ana answered.

Dumbledore smiled a little satisfied smile again.

"Sir," Monica began, a bit nervously. "There was one more thing… I saw … Snuffles going into the Forbidden Forest this morning. Is everything all right?" Harry looked at her sharply. This was the first he'd heard of his godfather's movements outside of the practice sessions. They hadn't talked much in the past month.

"Everything is fine Miss Reed. He just got bored with being in my office all the time. He'll be at your session tomorrow. Don't worry." Dumbledore answered.

"Is it truly safe for him to be here?" Harry asked.

"He needs to be here, so he is." Dumbledore said. "Now, to class with you. I must soothe Fudge." And he was gone through the portal to his office.

"I really don't like it when he does that," Rose said.

"He's utterly mad you know," George said.

"Well of course he is," Ron said. "Couldn't do half the things he's done if he weren't."

"He's also brilliant," Fred said.

"Well of course he is," Hermione said. "He couldn't have done half the things he has if he weren't." A chuckle fluttered around the room. Kali'na batted it out the window with her paw.

"Do you think he was serious about staying overnight in here?" Reggie asked.

"Yes, I believe he was." Rose said.

"Oh," Reggie said.

"He was right about class. We should get going." Hermione said.

It was a rather eventful dinner. Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy sat at the Ravenclaw table, shocking the entire school. Granted they sat together at the very end of the table with only Monica for company, but still is was progress. Dangerous, perhaps even foolhardy, but progress. Everyone knew why Draco was sitting with the Ravenclaws, though they weren't happy about. However it wasn't until halfway through the meal with the arrival of Cho Chang that Blaise's presence was explained. She swept in and sat across from him, smiling flirtatiously. Blaise choked on his pumpkin juice.

The four of them ate in decorous silence, ignoring the whispers around them, though Cho seemed to be preening under the eyes of the others. The other Guardians breathed a sigh of relief as the dessert course was finished. Then Cho 'accidentally' knocked her hot cocoa over. The momentum of the steaming liquid was enough that it splattered on Draco, though the brunt of it hit Monica.

Monica shrieked and stood, clothes dripping, wand out and at the ready. Draco put a hand on her arm, using his napkin to wipe droplets of cocoa from his face. Small reddened spots showed on his skin where the cocoa had been. "Are you all right?" he asked Monica politely, though his icy eyes belied the tone.

Monica glared at Cho, violet eyes practically glowing with anger. Draco squeezed her arm a bit and she calmed enough to snap, "Fine." Draco then turned the full force of his frosty gaze on Cho. Her false concern faltered and finally fell away.

"For someone smart enough not to date Potter," Draco started. He suppressed a wince and his face showed no sign as his Shard gave a twinge. "You aren't very bright are you?." Cho hissed like a scalded cat and the waiting population of the school let out a collective gasp. The other Guardians were watching intently from the Gryffindor table. Draco bent his head to the side, and looked her up and down. "We wouldn't want your godmother to know about this little incident now would we?" There was a flash of something behind the pretty girl's dark eyes. Cho then attempted to look down her nose at him, but being Malfoy, that was impossible and not only because he was taller than she.

Snape and Flitwick appeared then. "Malfoy, Zabini return to your own table." Snape ordered.

Flitwick hurried over to Monica, and patted her hand. "I can't believe such conduct could occur in my own house," Flitwick said. He looked over the table at Cho. "Five points from Ravenclaw and detention for you Miss Chang." He shook his head sadly. "Honestly dear." She looked down at her plate.

Blaise had already gone, but Draco remained. "I told you to return to your table Mister Malfoy," Snape ordered firmly.

"With your permission sir, I'd like to escort Miss Reed to the hospital wing." Draco said.

Snape nodded. "Do so." With one last furious purple glare at Cho, Monica stormed out of the hall with a coldly sneering Draco at her side.

About ten minutes after that, Dumbledore, Cora and Alaster, stood from the high table and headed for the doors. The Guardians all stood and picked up their bags. They had swapped their books for clothes previously. They followed the professors. With Draco and Monica already out of the hall they didn't have to worry about what it would look like if Draco left with them.

Cho cleared her throat and said as Rhia passed, "Could I speak with you a moment?" Harry stared at her with his mouth open for a moment. He glanced at the professors, who hadn't noticed. Rhia paused in her exit of the Hall and waited. Harry stayed with her. EH stood silent by her side to see what Cho wanted with Rhia.

"What did you want to speak with me about?" Rhia asked Cho. The girl looked at Harry.

"I'd prefer this be a private conversation." Cho said pointedly looking at Harry.

"After what you just did to our friend, I believe he is afraid for your safety." Rhia said calmly. Her eyes were slate gray ice chips.

"My safety? Why my safety?" Cho asked smiling innocently. Rhia simply raised an eyebrow. Cho's olive skin turned a rather awful shade of puce as she paled. Kali'na bristled at Harry's side. He bent and scooped her up. The dannikit's bright green eyes fastened on Cho. Harry's were locked on Rhia. He was watching her eyes.

"What was it you wanted Cho?" Rhia asked.

"I merely wanted to know if I might borrow your Arithmancy notes," Cho said.

Rhia blinked at her. "Arithmancy? Wouldn't Hermione be the one to ask for those?"

"I rather not ask her," Cho said. She frowned a bit. A small line formed on her brow. She would have been horrified if she had known.

"Why's that I wonder…" Rhia said in an airy voice. Cho's frown deepened, then smoothed out as if she had just realized what the expression did to her face.

"Rhia, we are going to be late," Harry said softly, noting that Kali'na's claws were making a sneak appearance, as the kit tried to wriggle out of his arms.

"Oh right, the project." Rhia glanced at him, then Kali'na. "Fine. Give me a moment to find them Cho." She reached into her bag and rummaged around a bit. Finally pulling out a scroll and handing it to the girl with a flourish. "I'd like these back at breakfast if you please."

"Of course." Cho said, taking the scroll as if it were gold. Harry frowned at her, but she didn't notice as she put it in her own bag. "Thank you," Cho said, smiling at Rhia.

Rhia just looked at her. "You're welcome." She turned back to Harry. "Shall we go then?" Harry nodded and took her bag. She smiled brightly at him. Cho tensed and then turned and walked away. When she was a safe distance away, Harry let Kali'na down. The kt was still bristling slightly. She trotted along with them as he and Rhia left the Great Hall.

"She's up to something," Harry murmured as they entered the corridor.

"Of course she is," Rhia answered. "That's why I stopped to talk to her. I want to know what it is before she does it."

"But you gave her your notes," Harry said.

"Yes I did," Rhia said. "Too bad only I can understand them." She grinned. "Do you think she'll tell me she couldn't read them or she'll pretend she could?"

Harry smiled a bit. "I guess we'll see." He frowned. "Why do you suppose she dislikes Monica so much?"

"You mean instead of me?" Rhia asked, with a little laugh.

"Well, yes." Harry said, flushing slightly.

Rhia smiled and took his free hand. "I'm not sure. I think I'll ask Monica a few questions tonight," Rhia said. "Maybe we'll be able to figure it out."

"I hope so," Harry said with a thought for his dream. "If not about that, then something." Rhia squeezed his hand. They had reached the window. "After you," he said gallantly.

"Thank you," Rhia said, blowing him a kiss before scrambling through. Kali'na followed her with a trill. With a grin, Harry did too.

The room had been rearranged. The chairs had been transfigured into fifteen blanket pallets on the floor lining the wall. Each was still monogrammed with the everyone's name. The boys were on one side and the girls on the other. The others had already arrived, except for Draco and Monica, who were probably still at the hospital wing… or somewhere… Everyone had left their things on the pallets and were speaking to Cora and Alaster. Dumbledore had already left.

"So, nothing inappropriate," Cora was saying.

"Exactly what do you mean by that Cora?" Rose asked cheekily.

"Right now I'm Professor Jameson Rose," Cora said "And you know exactly what I mean."

"So… you aren't staying?" Reggie asked.

"Neither of you?" Lynne added.

"Not unless you want us to," Alaster said. "We figured there were enough people in here. Besides, we trust you." The Weasley twins found themselves the objects of a lot of scrutiny just then.

"What?" George asked.

"We haven't done a thing," Fred said.

"Well except for that…" George started. "But that was earlier."

"Right. Nothing to do with tonight anyway."

Rose looked at the two of them narrowly. Cora huffed. "Well see that you stay in this room, and stay safe. We've set up a portal link to the bathroom, so you won't have to wander the hallways after hours."

"What about food?" Ron asked.

"You just ate!" Ana exclaimed.

"He's always hungry," Hermione said. "Must be eternally aware of a food source." Ron pulled a face at her. She smiled back serenely.

"I'm sure you can come up with something," Cora said. Ron sighed.

"Well all right then," Rose said, "Goodnight you two."

"We'll see you all in the morning." Cora said, giving her sister a stern look. Then she lost it and smiled. "Just don't stay up ALL night okay?" Then the professors were gone and the thirteen of them were alone for the night.

"Um… you don't think they locked out Monica or Draco do you?" Ginny asked.

"No, the window isn't locked yet." Rose said.

"I've never figured out how you can tell that," George said.

"It's a faculty thing," Rose said with a wink.

"But you aren't faculty, not really." Fred said.

"I'm as good as," Rose said, "At least in here."

"Should we send someone to fetch them?" Ana asked, worriedly.

"No need for a search party just yet," Monica said as she climbed into the room. "We're here." Draco followed a second behind her. His eyes were still frosty.

Rose grinned. "Now it's locked." The Weasley twins approached the doorway to see if they could perceive a difference.

Ana went to Monica, "Are you all right? What did Madame Pomfrey say?"

Monica smiled. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Actually she didn't say anything, because she wasn't there."

"Didn't you wait for her?" Reggie asked.

"No. She wouldn't." Draco said with a frown at Monica.

"Draco stop it, I'm fine," Monica said. "I'm a healer. I know how to take care of burns." She smiled at the still frowning Slytherin. "All I really needed to do was change clothes anyway. My robes caught most of the cocoa."

"I see you've done that," Rhia said. She smiled a bit. Ron was staring at a concerned Draco. He looked quite unsettled.

"Well I did have a couple of jumpers to choose from in my bag. Couldn't decide you know." Monica said with a grin.

"So no blisters then?" Lynne asked. "Those hurt like the very devil."

"Nope," Monica said, a little too flippantly.

Draco scowled. "Where is it?" he asked. "Let me see it."

"Why Master Malfoy," Monica gasped. "I'm not quite sure we've known each other long enough for that kind of talk!"

Everyone laughed then, except for Draco. Monica smiled at him sunnily. "I'm FINE Draco, really. It's nothing, just a water blister."

"Can't you heal it, like you did Draco's arm?" Daniel asked.

"Can't heal myself." Monica said with a sigh. "Doesn't work that way."

"Well, that's not fair." Hermione said. "Are you sure you can't?"

"Well, I haven't been able to so far." Monica said.

"Hmmm I think I'll take a look in the Book, just to see…" Hermione said. She wandered towards her shelf.

"Oh no you don't." Ron said, grabbing her arm. "You are not going into 'library land' tonight. How often do we get a chance like this? No possibility of intrusion by grown-ups. The fifteen of us in a room together, overnight…think of the possibilities…"

"Little brother has it right," George said, "Let's have some fun." He grinned as Ron snorted.

He was taller than his brothers by at least six inches.

"But Monica's blister…" Hermione started.

"Is fine 'Mione." Ron said, "She said so herself."

"Besides, by the time you found a possible answer, there won't be a blister anymore." Monica said with a smile.

"Why's that?" Neville asked.

"Because I'm making her a potion," Draco said. He went to his corner. "Do you have any thistledown?"

"What?" Neville paused. "Oh. Yes." Neville went to his window box.

"Hang on, If I'm not allowed to look in the Book, then why are they allowed to do their things?" Hermione asked Ron.

He raised an eyebrow at her and whispered, "Do you want to tell Draco Malfoy that he can't make a healing potion for his girlfriend?"

Hermione stared at him, then looked over at the rummaging Draco. "You mean they're… oh. I suppose not."

"Well, do we want to play some games… or what?" Ginny asked.

"Let's see… We could try 'Truth or Dare'… " Fred started.

"There's also 'Spin the Vial'" Daniel said with a wink in Ana's direction.

"Ewwww… That is so not what I wanted to picture right now Daniel," Reggie said. She made a face as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. A quickly muffled laugh came from Monica's direction, but she wouldn't look at anyone. Ana blushed furiously. George raised his eyebrow at her.

"I don't suppose any of you happened to pack unicorn tears in your bags?" Draco asked the room at large..

"Um… doubtful. Why?" Rose asked.

"Because they're an ingredient in this potion." Draco said. He was staring at his ingredient collection.

"They're expensive, aren't they?" Ron asked.

"Well… yes. But they are nearly as good as Phoenix tears for healing," Draco said.

"I don't need anything like that Draco. It's just a blister." Monica said, frowning slightly.

"Do you really need the unicorn tears Draco?" Rhia asked.

He looked at her and the frost in his eyes thawed considerably as he realized what she was asking. "They are an important ingredient for this particular potion," he said carefully, but he glanced at Monica as he finished.

Rhia nodded. "All right then." She looked at him intently before there was a flash of light and a unicorn stood in the middle of the room. A unicorn foal is pure gold and a mature one is purest white. But one that is in its adolescence is silver. Rhia glimmered in the bright torchlight. The base of her mane and tail were the dark gray of storm clouds, fading to a silver-white at the ends. She had a slightly darker gray ring around her neck, and a silvery gray diamond-shaped spot in the center of her chest.

All the girls gasped in awe, and the boys stepped back a pace. Harry and Ron remembered their experiences with Professor Grubbly-Plank and the unicorns. Those horns could be dangerous. Draco already had a small vial ready in his hand, but he was hesitant to step near her. He had nearly gotten speared by a unicorn horn. Rhia's horn was a glowing spiral of twisting pearl, rather reminiscent of a certain Spire. She looked over at Harry.

There was a sharp intake of breath from Ginny. Neville glanced at her. She was staring at Rhia with a shocked look on her face. She paid him no attention. "Harry… take the vial from Draco," Ginny said in a slightly strangled voice.

"Ginny? What… why?" Harry asked.

"Because only you can get close to her at the moment." Ginny said.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Of all of you," Ginny started and stopped. She frowned. "Harry just take it already!"

"All right Ginny. Calm down." Harry said. He took the vial from Draco. He stepped to Rhia's side. "Hi." He said softly.

"For Shards sake Harry," Ginny said exasperated.

"What's got into you?" George asked. He was unprepared for the daggers thrown from Ginny's blue eyes in his direction. "Only a question."

Harry smiled at Rhia. "Erm… mind crying a bit?" he asked. Her eyes sparkled with mirth. Then the sparkle became a glitter and the glitter, tears. Harry caught them carefully in the vial. They shone like quicksilver. "This enough?" he asked Draco.

"More than," Draco said. "Thank you… Rhia." Draco said.

Rhia bowed her head. In doing so, her horn touched Ginny's forehead. The girl leapt back as if she'd been stung. There was a flash of light and Rhia was herself again. "That was interesting," she said. "I've never been that form before. Bit unnerving really."

"How do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Because unicorns do not like boys." Ginny said.

"Yes, that and… Are you all right?" she asked Ginny suddenly. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

"I… I think… I'm fine." Ginny said.

"You're sure?" Rhia asked. Ginny nodded. George raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged at him.

"So… what are we going to do now?" Fred asked.

"Same thing we do every night Fred." George said.

"And what's that George?" Fred asked.

"Perfect our plans to take over the world!" George exclaimed, grinning maniacally.

"Oh, don't start that again…" Rose groaned.

George winked at her. "Or we could just play some games."

"Monica is taking this before we do anything," Draco said.

"I don't suppose this will taste good…" she said hopefully.

"You told me so yourself, a potion that tastes good is not properly done." Draco told her. She huffed. "Drink it." He growled.

She took the vial of amethyst liquid and drank it down. When she finished she pursed her lips and swallowed a couple more times. She looked at Rhia. "No offense, but… your tears are definitely Not sweet." Rhia grinned at her.

"NowI suggest that we all get comfortable before we get started," Rose said.   
  
There was a flurry of activity as school robes were shed in favor of the simpler uniforms. Ties and shoes were also removed, ties to their respective bags and shoes to in a haphazard pile in one of the empty corners of the room.   
  
"Ahhh…" Daniel sighed, throwing himself on his pallet. "Much better."   
  
"Yes," Ana said, "Much."   
  
Everyone made themselves comfortable on the various pallets. They disregarded the names on the pillows for now, since they weren't planning to go to sleep at the moment. Any spell that would prevent otherwise couldn't activate. "Okay then," Rose said. "We have to develop our trust of one another I suggest we go with 'Truth or Dare' to begin."   
  
"How is that going to help?" Neville asked apprehensively.   
  
"Implicit trust in one another is vital to our mission. Distrust is a weakness that we cannot afford. We have to be united if we are going to succeed." Rose answered. "Shall we begin?" There were nods of assent around the room, though several looked nervous. Rose smiled. "This nervousness is precisely why it is a good idea."   
  
"I'd like to make to make a suggestion," George said. Rose nodded. "Perhaps a rle or two would be wise, considering the varying ages and genders of the group."   
  
Rose's eyes swirled blue. "Why George how responsible of you." He winked and she smiled again. "What did you have in mind?"   
  
"I thought," Fred elbowed him. "Sorry mate, WE thought that everyone should have tot take a Dare as well as a Truth, to make things fair of course,"   
  
"Does that seem reasonable?" Rose asked. Again there were nods of assent around the room.   
  
"I have a request," Draco said. Everyone looked at him. He took a deep breath. "If answering a truth or performing a Dare would place the subject or someone else in real danger, may we refuse?"   
  
"I think we all agree that no truly dangerous Dares are permissible, but the Truths… I don't know." Rose said.   
  
"We have to present a united front to the Enemy." Harry said. "Secrets divide us."   
  
"Some secrets are kept to protect," Rhia said.

"In a group like ours," Harry responded earnestly, focusing bright green eyes on her. "Secrets are dangerous."   
  
"Yes that's true," Rhia said. "But sometimes what is a secret, is moreso."   
  
"Aren't we all secrets?" Hermione asked, "of one type or another?"   
  
"What do you mean?" Reggie asked.   
  
"Well, the Wizarding World is a secret from the Muggle World. The Guardians are such a well kept secret in the Wizarding World that they are barely even a legend anymore. We are secrets here at Hogwarts and within our own houses…" Hermione trailed off.   
  
"We all have secrets," Draco said.   
  
"All the more reason to continue," Harry said. "Every question should be answered." Everyone stared at him. "Don't you see? If we don't share our truths, then Voldemort may have more knowledge of us than we do as a whole. That is unacceptable." His green eyes shone with passion as he gazed intensely into each face. "The Shards were once part of a whole, and so they must be again."   
  
After a silent moment, Rose spoke, "All agreed to speak any and all Truths requested of them, raise your hands." One by one, hands were lifted. Rhia and Draco were the last.   
  
"You truly are the Heart of us Harry James Potter." Rhia said softly, gazing at him with a silver light in her eyes. When all hands were raised, something clicked inside them and the Shards flashed. It happened so quickly that they almost didn't notice.   
  
"I guess this isn't just a game, if the Shards are involved." Ginny said.   
  
"Everything is involved." Rose said quietly.   
  
Another moment later, George cleared his throat. "Okay, no dangerous Dares," he said.   
  
"Embarassing, yes." Fred added with a gleam in his eye. "Dangerous, no."   
  
"Who wants to go first?" Rose asked.   
  
"How are we going to go about this?" Draco asked.   
  
"The person who goes first questions whom they like," Hermione said. "They in turn make their choice, 'Truth or Dare.' We should go to everyone before we repeat. So that no one must tell or do more than the others."   
  
"I'll go first, since the game was my suggestion in the first place," Fred said. He looked around the room. "Neville, Truth… or Dare?"

All of the dannikits had climbed onto their companions, strengthening them in their own way. At Fred's words, Andra attempted to crawl into Neville's shirt. Being the size of a housecat and fluffy made this difficult. Especiallt for Neville, who was looking decidedly nervous. Ginny clucked her tongue at Andra, who abruptly calmed in Neville's arms. "T-truth," Neville managed.   
  
Fred smiled even wider. "Why do you have Ginny's hanky in your pocket?"   
  
Everyone smiled as Neville's mouth fell open. Well, Draco smirked of course. "She brought me breakfast this morning when I was running late. A sausage biscuit wrapped in the hanky."   
  
"But why do you Still have it?" Fred asked.   
  
"There are a couple of grease spots on it. I was going to send it to the laundry," Neville said. "Unless you need it?"   
  
Ginny shook her head and smiled at him. "I have several thanks."   
  
Fred looked thoughtful. "Your turn Neville," Rose said.   
  
"What? Oh. Um…" Nevill's nose wrinkled as he thought. Andra stretched out a paw and tapped his nose. "Ah… Ginny, Truth or Dare?"   
  
"Truth," she said without hesitation.   
  
"Why did you behave the way you did when Rhia was a unicorn?" Neville asked.   
  
Ginny blinked at him. "Because… because I felt what she felt."   
  
"WHAT?!" Rhia exclaimed.   
  
Ginny turned her face to Rhia. "When you changed, I could feel your feelings. That's why I knew that only Harry could get near you."   
  
"Has that ever happened before?" Rhia asked.   
  
That's how I communicate with the animals I speak with, but it's never happened with a person before. Well, Animagi I mean. I've never connected with Sirius or McGonagall before. That's why I was a bit… out of sorts. It was… unsettling."   
  
"You felt what I felt?" Rhia asked. Ginny nodded. Now Rhia was thoughtful.   
  
"Your turn Ginny," Rose said, after a quick glance at her sister.   
  
Ginny looked around the room at each of them. Finally she looked down at Erian in her lap. "You pick someone love," she said. "I can't choose."   
  
Erian trilled a stepped from her lap. Whirring, he began a circuit of the room, bushy tail waving cheerily. Aren't we supposed to be having fun?" Lynne asked in the silence.   
  
"We all seem to have taken a seriousness pill of some sort." Ana said.   
  
"You're always serious," Daniel told her, grinning.   
  
"I am not," she said indignantly. "Some people think me quite the fun person." She frowned at him.   
  
"See?" Daniel said to the group. "She even takes me seriously. You really shouldn't my dear," he said, shaking his head sadly.   
  
Ana's mouth opened and closed and opened again. "Why you!" she exclaimed finally, smacking his shoulder.   
  
"What'd I do?" Daniel asked innocently. His expression took on an injured air.   
  
Meanwhile, Erian continued to wander the room. He semmed to be conversing with each dannikit. When he reached Draco, he stopped and sat down, staring up at him. Then the kit draped himself across Draco's legs and trilled. Drco stroked his head and looked from Daniel and Ana, who were still playing off one another, to Ginny. She cleared hr throat. Ana gave Daniel a look that clearly stated, 'We will continue this later.'   
  
"Draco, Truth, or Dare?" Ginny asked.

"Dare," he said, blue eyes glinting oddly.   
  
"Ah good" George said. "First victim."   
  
"Doesn't the questioner make the Dare?" Draco asked.   
  
"Oh yes," Fred said. "But she's our sister."   
  
"So this ought to be good." George finished.   
  
Draco raised an eyebrow at Ginny. She smiled at him, humming softly, tapping her chin and staring at him. Everyone waited expectantly. Erian whirred from his place draped over Draco's legs. "I've got it," Ginny grinned at Draco. He stared at her, waiting. "I dare you to drink a potion of Neville's making, in your pajamas, and doing a handstand."   
  
"But Ginny," Neville whispered. "I only have that"   
  
"Shhhh," Ginny told him. "Fetch it for me please?"   
  
Draco was actually muttering to himself as he took his bag through the portal into the bathroom. He came back a few moments later in dark green satin pajama bottoms and a silvery gray dressing gown made of something softer than velvet, with a gold DM monogrammed on the left side. Ginny was waiting with a small teardrop shaped bottle of a thick brown liquid. Draco visibly blanched at the sight of the potion. The rest of them, trying not to laugh, could see him searching his mind for a potion that was supposed to be that color when it was complete. They knew the exact moment when he realized that he didn't know of any potion that color. His lip curled into a wry grin that was almost a sneer. "I thought none of the Dares were to be dangerous?" he asked Ginny.   
  
Andra put a paw over Neville's mouth before he could respond. Ginny merely smiled. "Where would you like to stand?" she asked.   
  
"Over there," he said, pointing to his place next to Monica. He raised a blond eyebrow at Ginny. "Were you serious about the handstand bit?"   
  
It's necessary for the potion to take effect." Ginny said. The edges of her mouth were twitching with suppressed laughter.   
  
"I see," Draco said. Monica smiled at him supportively. "Let's get on with it then." He was stiff with Malfoy pride as he passed the others. Everyone but Neville was shaking with silent laughter. He was looking just a bit nervous. Every dannikit except Andra took a swipe at his robe belt. "For the sake of your sanity, and mine, please get your laughter out now." Draco said in a serious voice, wry grin firmly in place. The Weasley twins were the loudest as laughter swept the room. "I will be able to speak after this, won't I?"   
  
"Of course," Ginny said giggling.   
  
Draco nodded. "How long am I to be in a handstand?"   
  
"Until the potion takes effect," Ginny said. Draco nodded again.   
  
He took a deep breath and flipped over onto his hands in one smooth movement. The belt of his dressing gown managed to keep it from falling down and covering his face. It was a very well-behaved dressing gown. "Someone is going to have to give me the potion," he said, quite seriously.

Laughter rolled through the room. There was something quite amusing about an upside down Draco Malfoy calmly requesting a potion. His hair, still slicked back, stayed in place, like a helmet of sorts, which added to the humor of the situation. Monica took the bottle from Ginny and approached, grinning. "Don't worry Draco. I'll make sure you get the full dose." She said, laughter sparkling in her voice.   
  
"Thanks, I think," Draco said. His face was beginning to turn red, but he didn't seem to be having any trouble staying upright. In fact, he casually crossed his ankles to keep his pant legs from falling down. Monica knelt by his head and for a moment, a curtain of black curls hid his face from the rest of them. "How's my hair?" he whispered.   
  
Monica laughed softly. "It's fine," She reached out and ruffled it, or tried to. Draco scowled. Monica took the cap off the bottle then and filled the little cap with the potion. It was about the texture of a smoothie, and an odd mixture of different shades of brown. "Doesn't this look appetizing?" Monica asked.   
  
"Not really, no." Draco said. He shifted his weight a little. "Give it here."   
  
"One moment," Monica said. "Who are you asking?" Draco frowned at her. "Come on Draco, turn that frown upside down," Monica coaxed. This sent the Weasley twins into gales of laughter. The others weren't far behind.   
  
"Harry, Truth or Dare?" When his mouth was open on the 'are' portion of the word Dare, Monica poured in the capful of potion. Draco looked surprised and then thoroughly disgusted. "Gah! What is that?"he asked after swallowing with difficulty.   
  
"My attempt at a cleansing potion." Neville said. "So the chocolate flavoring didn't come through did it?"   
  
"No." Draco said. "You added chocolate to a cleansing potion?"   
  
"Well sort of… Cocoa powder." Neville answered.   
  
"What kind of cleansing are we talking about here?" Draco asked. Daniel snorted. Draco glared.

"Well," Neville started. Draco glared more. The Malfoy glare lost a bit of it's potency when the bearer was doing a handstand in his pajamas. "It's supposed to rid you of impurities. Which is why you have to be upside down. They come out your ears this way. Less unpleasant."   
  
"Where on earth did you find such a recipe?" Draco asked.   
  
"In one of my Herbology books. I'll show you later. It's harmless really." Neville said.   
  
"So Harry Potter," Draco asked then. "Truth or Dare."   
  
"Truth," Harry said, grinning at him.   
  
"How the devil did you pull that floating head trick in Hogsmeade back in third year?" Draco asked. "I've been wondering ever since."   
  
"The floating head… Oh. That. One second." He reached into his bag and rummaged around. Kali'na played with the strap. "I was wearing this." He pulled out a large shimmery cloak. "My father's invisibility cloak."   
  
"Crikey Harry," Fred said. He got a sudden case of itchy fingers. Solida sat on them.   
  
"Bet that's come in handy." George said. Lunia wrapped her tail around his wrist, whirring.   
  
"It has," Harry said.   
  
"Well," Lynne said, "Let's see it then." Her sister looked at her. "What? Have you ever seen one? I know I haven't."   
  
"I was just going to ask the same thing," Reggie said. Both of them looked at Harry. Still smiling a little, he stood, put on the cloak and disappeared. Everyone except Hermione, Ron, and Rhia gaped at the spot where he had been, Draco wobbled slightly but stayed upright. Rhia's eyes went slowly around the room, then stopped. One corner of her mouth went up in a half-smile.   
  
"Where'd he go?" Daniel asked.


	29. Truth or Dare Part 2

"Harry?" Monica called.

"This explains so much," Ginny said.

"What do you mean?" Neville asked.

"All the sneaking around those three have done in the past four years without getting caught," Ginny said.

"You've used it, haven't you Ron?" Fred asked.

Ron smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"But… where did Harry go?" Reggie asked. She and Lynne looked around the room, searching.

"BOO!" yelled Harry's head in midair between their faces.

"EEK!" They shrieked in unison. Harry laughed. The twins glared at him. A gust of wind blew out of nowhere at him. The invisibility cloak blew backwards completely off of Harry's shoulders and for a moment Hermione's head disappeared. She reached up and pulled the cloak off her head. Harry's head was suddenly and mysteriously dripping wet.

"Don't mess with us Harry," Lynne said.

"We're everywhere." Reggie finished. Harry stood there looking stunned while everyone else laughed now. Then he was dry and the air stilled.

"I won't be asking you two anything," Harry said smiling wryly.

"Weren't you restricted from the Hogsmeade trips third year because you didn't have permission?" Neville asked suddenly. "I remember that you were very upset about it."

"Yeah… I went anyway." Harry said. He flushed a bit as he went back to his spot. Rhia's smiling eyes followed him back in her direction. He didn't seem to notice, but Draco did.

"How?" Daniel asked. "They wouldn't let even an invisible you into the carriages."

"That's where we come in," George said. "We showed him the secret passage behind the statue of the hag."

"Caved in now." Fred said. "Quite sad really. No other way to get to Hogsmeade now except through the Forest."

Hermione and Ron glanced at one another. The twins obviously didn't know about the passage under the Whomping Willow. "Actually," Harry started. "That's not entirely true."

"What do you mean?" Reggie asked.

"There's another way?" Fred asked eagerly.

"There's a passage from the grounds to the Shrieking Shack." Harry said.

"Where?" George asked.

"I don't think they need to know that," Rose said. "Harry who do you chose?"

"Aw… come on Rose, be a chum," Fred said.

"Let him tell us, it's not like we'll do anything… I mean we already have a direct link to the Forbidden Forest and to the Headmaster's office and we haven't abused those." George said.

"Not to my knowledge you haven't but I wouldn't be surprised…" Rose said. She faced Harry. "Well?"

"Truth or Dare Rose?" Harry asked, grinning at her.

Rose looked at him a moment. "Dare," she said, her eyes swirled blue and gold.

"I dare you to not say 'Blessed Hell' for the rest of the night," Harry said.

"What?" Rose asked.

"If you do," Harry went on, "you have to kiss Trevor."

"What?" Rose asked again.

Fred grinned, "If you say 'blessed hell', you have to kiss a toad."

"Trevor… the toad… Is he even in here Neville?" Rose asked a little hopefully.

"He's in Andra's box recovering from the potion Snape made me give him. Made him quite sleepy." Neville answered with a wave at the green box beside his bag.

"Oh. Lovely." Rose said. "Thanks Harry."

"You're welcome." Harry smiled. Rhia grinned at her sister.

Rose looked around the room. "Ana, Truth or Dare?"

"Oh." Ana sat up a little straighter. "Truth I suppose."

Rose pondered, petting Vestan meditatively. Draco was starting to sweat in his handstand. His hair had somehow been cleansed of gel and was now sticking straight down from his head in a thick white-blond cloud. His face was bright red, but he managed to continue to stay upright. His arms weren't shaking yet and that, not that they would ever admit it, surprised many of them.

"Oh. Erm… Draco you can get down now, the potion is finished. Sorry for interrupting Ana. Go ahead." Ginny said, flushing.

"I don't mind," Ana said. She smiled at the little redhead, then sat thoughtfully as Draco flipped back over and calmly sat on his pallet, tailor-fashion. He didn't say a word as his hair fell into his eyes.

"You all right?" Monica asked.

"Fine," Draco said. He was sitting very still.

"Light-headed?" Monica asked.

Draco closed his eyes a moment and slowly turned his head to look at her. He blinked again. "What do you think? I've been upside down for thirty minutes." Someone snorted. Draco didn't move.

Trying not to smile, Monica brushed his hair out of his eyes with one hand. She touched his forehead a moment. "Better?" she asked.

Draco took a deep breath. "Yes thank you," he said, relaxing a bit. "What's Ana's question Rose?"

"I've got it. What's the worst thing that you have ever done?" Rose asked.

Daniel raised his eyebrows at Rose. "Ana doesn't even curse." He turned to Ana. "Do you?"

Ana didn't answer him. Instead she stared down at her lap. "The worst thing I've ever done…" She was thoughtful for a moment. "I… I started an earthquake to spite my father. I didn't know that's what I did at the time but… now I know it was. I was angry at him because he wanted me to go to a muggle school after the Chamber of Secrets episode. He's a muggle you see. Because of the underage magic law, I couldn't prove exactly how awful that would be, so all my arguments were in vain." She paused.

"How did it happen?" Daniel asked. He watched her closely, mildly startled. Segan had draped himself around her shoulders like a big furry scarf, whirring.

"I was in the kitchen with my mother. She was telling me about how being a witch was about making compromises to live in the 'real' world. She doesn't do magic in front of my father. It… upsets him. I was angry at her for believing what she was saying to me and angry at him for forcing her to deny such a large part of herself. The ground started to shake and I watched out the window as a large boulder tumbled down the hillside behind my house. It bounced over the garden and crashed into my father's tool shed. He was in its doorway at the time… he wasn't hurt, but… everything in that building was destroyed. I think now that my mother knew it was me that had done it… because her eyes got very large and she stared at me, even as my father came running into the house to check on us, grumbling about his tools even as he looked us over. She turned to him and said, 'I am sorry about your tools dear. We're fine. Antar is going back to Hogwarts in September. Are you all right?' He just looked at her, then at me, and that was the end of it."

"That's the worst thing?" Draco asked, eyebrows up.

"I nearly killed my father, and I destroyed many of his possessions. That's pretty awful." Ana responded.

"Ah, but you didn't even hurt him. Plus you had a right to be angry with him. He was trying to make you something you aren't. He couldn't see how special you are. All you did was force him to see it." Daniel said. "Or rather, you showed your mother that her life was not for you."

"She knew what you were after that, and knew you needed to be here," Rhia said.

"And you didn't even do it on purpose." Reggie said.

"I suppose…" Ana looked at Rose. "Do our parents know who we are?"

"Shards I hope not," Draco muttered. Monica brushed his hair out of his eyes again. He glanced at her, then back at Rose.

"Some do, some don't." Rose answered.

"Mine wouldn't understand," Hermione said. "They're wonderful, but they are muggles."

"I've been wondering how that happened." Ron said. "I mean, no offense to your parents Hermione, but a Guardian coming from an ancient Atlantean line of descent being Muggleborn? It's a bit odd."

"I was wondering too Ron," Hermione said. She looked at Rose.

"You already know the answer to that," Rose said.

"So the search for knowledge really doesn't have anything to do with magic then," Hermione said.

"It does and it doesn't. Remember the women with your gift had to hide well. For a time, women weren't even known to have souls, so to actually be smart was social suicide, and the line had to be passed on. You were a surprise to Raine, if you'll recall. He thought your line had faded from time." Rose said.

"I think our parents know," Daniel said. "Summer before my third year they asked me if any odd women had been at the school. I told them it was a school for wizards and witches. Of course there were odd women about."

Ana elbowed him. "I remember that," Reggie said. "It was in the kitchen, right after you caught the knife that Mom had knocked over."

"You moved so fast… Dad asked if they were going to make you a seeker with those reflexes and Mom asked about the women." Lynne grinned. "I suppose she meant you." She nodded at the Jamesons.

"Hmmm… I'd like to know how she knew about us… but enough of that. Ana?" Rose queried.

"Truth or Dare Daniel?" Ana asked.

"Dare of course," he said grinning at her.

She smiled for the first time since telling her Truth. "Let's test those reflexes of yours. I dare you to spin around in place until I tell you to stop, then we'll toss a few things at you to see if you can catch them."

"I accept. I'm a Beater though, not a Catcher." Daniel said.

"Making excuses already? Draco said. "Saturday's game should be easy then." Daniel glared at him as he stood up.

Twenty minutes later, the room was full of laughter and… bubbles. Daniel had spun for ten minutes, then had five balls thrown at him. Two coshed him on the head, but he caught the other three.

He then, dizzily, asked George, who chose Truth, to tell him how he and Fred had managed to set up shop in Zonko's. After a triple shared glance, Harry's silent partner status came to light. The looks he got then made Harry reach for his invisibility cloak. Rhia stopped him with a hand and a smile.

Then George asked Ron, who chose Dare; perhaps expecting that since he was his brother he'd get off light. He was wrong and as such was the source of the bubbles. The Dare had been to try one of the newest of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Now, every time he opened his mouth, a large soap bubble came out. When the bubbles popped, his words could be heard, but not before.

"So Reggie, truth or Dare?" Ron asked with Hermione popping the bubbles for him.

Reggie, giggling managed to say, "Truth."

"What exactly did you do to Desiree? Bloody Bubbles… That shed was destroyed. Brotherly consideration…" Ron's bubbles said. He scowled at George.

Still giggling, Reggie said, "Oh I blew her against the wall, hard. Wasn't' my fault it wasn't built to withstand hurricane force winds."

"I helped," Lynne said.

"You pummeled her with a deluge," Reggie acknowledged.

"Nice," Rose said. "Next?"

"Rhia, Truth or Dare?" Reggie asked. Everyone waited.

Ron swallowed a bubble halfway out of his mouth. He made a face. Hermione looked at him. He opened his mouth again and a much smaller bubble appeared. Hermione popped it with her pinky finger. "Better than slugs," came out in a distant sounding whisper. Hermione giggled. Draco smirked and Monica looked confused.

"Dare please," Rhia said.

"I dare you to go owl, and fly against me," Reggie said.

"Can you fly?" Harry asked, aware even as he said it that he should know this already, but he didn't.

"We'll see, won't we?" Rhia smiled at him and then shifted. A flash of light revealed an owl no bigger than Pigwidgeon, but in shades of gray rather than brown. She hooted softly.

"Pick her up Harry," Ginny said. "She can't start on the ground that way." After glancing at Ginny, Harry held out his hand and Rhia-owl hopped into it. He rubbed her feathery cheek, as he did Hedwig when she was being affectionate. Ginny giggled. She merely shook her head when the others looked at her questioningly. Rhia ruffled her feathers and turned wide eyes to Reggie.

"Whenever you're ready," Reggie said, watching her.

She hooted. Harry held his hand above his head and Rhia launched herself into the air. She zoomed about, again reminiscent of Pigwidgeon, before finding her rhythm. She hovered above Reggie, waiting. Then she caught the building air currents and soared around them, under the high ceiling. At first, flying against the wind wasn't difficult, but gradually, the wind grew stronger as Reggie concentrated.

Finally, Rhia's wings were fluttering so quickly that it was difficult to see them, though she was merely struggling to stay in one place. Though Reggie kept the wind in the upper region of the room, it was now strong enough to make even Rose's long braid move. Above them, Rhia did a flip midair and was suddenly zipping around the room. Reggie brought the wind down and Rhia slowed until she was able to glide silently to her pallet.

The little gray owl flashed and Rhia sat there, face glowing with exertion and breathing heavily. Harry tried not to stare. "Blessed Hell," she panted. "That was a difficult one."

Reggie grinned. "I know. Owl feathers are soft so that they can glide silently. They aren't really meant to fight the wind."

"So that's why you chose an owl. I thought so." Hermione said.

"Let's hear that brilliant mind of yours," Rhia said. "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," Hermione smiled.

"Have you found anything in the Book that you are afraid to tell us?" Rhia asked.

"What… what do you mean?" Hermione asked in response.

"Come come, Hermione," George said. "You haven't been keeping something from us now have you?"

"Well…" Hermione started.

"There's something worse than the Prophecy you told us earlier?" Lynne asked.

"It's… it's another prophecy I think. I didn't want to tell you about it until I understood it," Hermione said. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to wait?"

"You can't truly understand a prophecy until it has come to pass," Rhia said. "Before that, it's interpretation."

"I'll take that as a no then." Hermione said. She stood and went to her bookcase. Instead of coming back with the Book, she returned with her Muggle notebook back to the circle. She sat again and Ron touched her hand.

He opened his mouth and a bubble appeared. Fianna popped it with a swipe of her paw. "I'll read it if you like," said Ron's speech bubble. Such an offer, considering his current condition caused nervous laughter to flutter through the room. Andra waved at it as it faded out the window and into the night.

"No thank you Ron," Hermione said with a gentle smile. She did however take his hand in hers before opening her notebook. She flipped to a page covered in neat writing done in various colored inks. She looked at all of them again. "You're sure?"

"We'll not let you carry the burden of knowledge alone any longer," Harry said.

Hermione simply nodded. "It begins thus…

_'Heart shall cast light in shadow and what was hidden shall be revealed._

_That which was separate shall be joined when Nature heeds the Voice._

_The Healer shall find the Dragon when an ancient peace is broken._

_The Archer lights the Flame when the Staff bearer finds what was lost._

_The Earth shall shake the Blade when the Serpent returns to the Fallen place._

_A storm awakens Wind and Water when lightning strikes twice._

_The Warrior learns and the Seeker fights when the Others gather.'_

Hermione looked up. "That's all of it."

"So… it's a timeline of sorts," Fred said. "It's a prophecy of events that will happen, once others do."

"As far as I can tell, yes." Hermione said.

"It refers to us all," Monica said. "well, except for Rhia."

"I'm not in the Book very often. And I wasn't in the Phoenix book at all." Rhia said.

"The names in it… Those are what we are in the scheme of things?" Lynne asked.

"That's how we are referred to throughout the Book. It doesn't have our names. That would be too difficult, considering it was written thousands of years ago." Hermione said.

"Our names, up to the last Gathering were written in the Records… the Phoenix book." Rose said.

"The ancient peace that was broken… do you suppose that was referring to when the book was stolen from Draco?" Monica asked.

"Why? Did you find a Dragon or something then?" Harry asked, with a grin.

"What? Oh… forgot about that part," Monica said in a odd voice, glancing at Draco. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Why don't we all get into our pajamas before we continue?" Rose suggested. "It's getting late and we should be comfortable."

"I'm comfortable," Draco said. He got a couple of Looks. "well I have been in my pajamas for over an hour." Ginny giggled.

"Okay then," Rose said. "Ladies first in the bathroom to change." Rose said. There was a sudden flurry of activity as the girls gathered their things and went through the portal to the bathrooms. This left the seven young men alone.

Ron said something, but of course all that came out was bubbles. He glared at his brothers. Draco smirked.

"Any chance of those letting up soon?" Harry asked, trying not to laugh.

"Oh right. Sorry Bro," George said. He pulled out a gaily wrapped candy. "This ought to settle those bubbles of yours. The only antidote for Bubble Trouble Taffy, is a Cinnamon Pop." He held the candy out to Ron.

A rather wary looking bubble appeared. Harry popped it. "This isn't going to make it worse…" a smaller bubble followed. Harry popped that as well. "Is it?"

"It shouldn't…" Fred said.

"At least we don't think so…" George said.

"There was that incident with the frog…" Fred started.

"But his tongue grew back," George added.

"What?" Ron exclaimed. The bubble popped on it's own that time.

"Come now, Weasley… it can't really make it worse now can it?" Draco said.

"You don't know the Weasley Wizard Wheezes," Neville said. "Their Canary Cream kept me in feathers for hours." He looked at the portal. "How long do you think they are going to be?"

"Knowing my sisters… A half hour at least." Daniel said.

"Hmmm, Why don't we change out here then?" Harry suggested. "That way we'll be ready when they are."

"Good idea Harry," George said. "Ron take the candy." He tossed the Cinnamon Pop at Ron, who caught it and still obviously wary, put it in his mouth. A few moments later he was sweating, and once again glaring at his brothers.

"An unfortunate side effect," George said. "You have to sweat out the bubble formula." He was rummaging in his bag for his pajama shirt.

"It's a work in progress." Fred said.

"All right, I know I didn't forget a shirt," Neville said. Everyone looked at him. "I put in three… Just in case," he said. "And now I can't find any of them."

"I can't find mine either," Harry said.

"Mine is gone too," Daniel said.

George and Fred looked at each other. "Ours too."

"Nothing here either," Ron said. Though his voice was a bit hoarse and smoke seemed to be coming from his tongue, he was speaking normally. Then the portal opened and in came the girls.

Now this might have been unknown to the gentlemen before this, but a girls' nightwear tells a lot about her. For instance, Hermione wore a long pale blue nightgown, with eyelet lace at the neck and cuffs. Rose wore a black tee and shorts. Reggie wore sky blue pants with clouds on them and a matching blue tee. Lynne wore sea-green pants and shirt with little orange fish all over them. Ginny wore a big pink nightshirt with a teddy bear on the front. Rhia wore plaid shorts and a gray tank top, Ana wore a long purple nightgown with double spaghetti straps, instead of sleeves. Monica wore leopard print satin pants and a tank top edged in black lace.

The guys on the other hand, with the exception of Draco wore pajama pants, flannel, mostly plaid, though Daniel's were green, and Neville's were bright yellow. They all stared in silence as the girls took their seats. "I see we're all ready now." Rose said. "Hermione?"

"What did you do with our shirts?" Ron asked, still hoarse.

"Ron, you got rid of the bubbles," Hermione said with a grin.

"You didn't answer his question," Neville said.

"I haven't done anything to them," Hermione said. "Monica, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth please," Monica said. The boys pondered, looking around speculatively. Draco smirked, finding this highly amusing.

"What do you know about your line in the prophecy that you didn't tell us?" Hermione asked immediately. Monica stared at her. "Did you find a Dragon that you aren't telling us about?"

"I… I did… but it's not my place to speak of it." Monica said. Draco wasn't even smirking anymore. His face was perfectly blank.

"What do you mean?" Ana asked. "Where is it?"

"You found a Real Dragon?" Reggie asked.

"Did it hurt you?" Lynne asked.

"What? No it wasn't a live dragon, so of course it didn't hurt me …exactly… as to where it is… that too is not my place to say." Monica answered. She glanced at Draco. He finally looked back at her. She nodded and said, "It's Draco's."

"Draco is the dragon you found?" Ginny asked.

"She did find him that morning," Daniel said.

"No…" Draco said softly. "The dragon is on me."

"I don't understand," Reggie said.

Draco didn't say anything else, merely slipped out of his dressing gown and shirt, and turned his back on them. The dragon etched in his skin in the scars shown silver. There were gasps around the room.

"What the hell happened to you?" George asked.

At the same time, Rose said softly, "Blessed Hell." She flushed, realizing what she had said, but no one else seemed to have noticed, so she didn't say anything else.

"My father happened to me," Draco said, turning back around to face them. Monica put a hand on his bare shoulder.

"But… that's child abuse," Lynne said. "Isn't it?"

"Malfoys are above the law," Draco said sardonically. He managed an almost smile at her, "Or hadn't you heard that little one?"

Hermione stood and walked over. She went to stand behind Draco. "Do you mind?" She asked. He shook his head, albeit reluctantly. She studied his back a moment. "It looks almost as if the majority of the scars are actually there to hide the dragon. Like camouflage," Hermione said.

"That's what I think as well… Like it's a sign of who he is or something." Monica said. "And this one here, the most recent one, seems to complete the picture." She traced it with a finger. Draco jerked. "Sorry," Monica said, though she didn't sound sorry at all.

"But Lucius doesn't know the you are a Guardian," Harry said. "Or we'd all be in trouble."

"No he doesn't." Draco responded. "I only found out a month ago, so he couldn't have known."

"But…how could he not?" Ginny asked. "I mean you have a bloody great dragon on your back. That's a pretty big sign. Every time you had your shirt off…"

"He never saw it." Draco said. "My old Nurse used to give me a concealing potion to hide the… the scars. As soon as I was old enough, she taught me how to make it myself. My father took it as a sign of vanity, perfectly acceptable in a Malfoy. I didn't even really know that it was a dragon until Monica saw it, that morning after the book was taken."

"There are spells, potions that can heal without scars…" Hermione said. "Why didn't you do that?"

"He couldn't. There was something used… I don't know what," Monica said. "Something that blocks even my magic."

"So an alliance was broken that night. Someone in your own house attacked you for the book." Ron said. "But who?"

"If I knew that," Draco said, "I wouldn't have taken that Forget-Me-Not Potion."

"So Monica… Lynne or Fred next?" Rose asked.

"Wait a minute Rose. You said those two little words. We all heard you." Rhia said, grinning.

"Neville, where is Trevor?" Harry asked.

"You aren't really going to make me kiss a frog, are you?" Rose asked plaintively.

"He's a toad," Ginny said.

"And yes we are." Fred added.

Rose shuddered as Neville brought a blinking Trevor out of Andra's box. The kit sniffed him and whirred. Neville carried him over to Rose and the Weasley twins. "No offense Neville," Rose said. "But he is really quite hideous."

"He's a toad," Neville said in response. "He looks exactly how he's supposed to look."

Rose shuddered again. Neville held Trevor in front of her. "Now give him a big smooch," Harry said. Rose leaned forward slowly, pursed her lips, and kissed the toad.

Neville would swear later that Trevor actually blushed. The toad may not have truly been red, but Rose was definitely green. Trevor did put up quite a struggle after the kiss. Legs kicking, he fought his way free of Neville's hands and hopped back to the box. Rose swallowed. "Excuse me," she whispered, then she fled to the bathroom. Running water could be heard before the portal had even closed all the way. Everyone was still laughing when she came back, mouth scrubbed until the whole lower portion of her face was red.

Finally, Monica asked Lynne if she wanted a Truth or a Dare. But before the girl could answer, Draco noticed that his shirt was missing. His dressing gown was still present, but a shiver from Monica had prompted his offering it to her. She wore it now. His pajama shirt had disappeared however. "All right, something's going on," Harry said.

No one responded. Instead, Lynne answered Monica, asking for a Dare. Still ignoring the predicament of the males in the room, Monica responded by daring Lynne to dunk her head in the water tank for as long as she could. Lynne accepted, but before she did so, she whispered to Reggie everything she needed to know, no matter what Fred's response. Then she dunked her head in the tank.

"Truth or Dare Fred?" Reggie asked.

"Dare," Fred said with a grin.

Reggie grinned, "Lynne dares you… to go the rest of the night without playing a joke on anyone."

"What?" Fred asked, rather theatrically stunned.

"Exactly what I said. Excluding future dares for people. I'm sure those candies of yours will come back into play again."

Fred frowned and looked at George. "Okay… I suppose I accept."

"Wow, that was a good one Reggie." Daniel said.

"Lynne's idea, not mine," Reggie said. She smiled at her sister, though Lynne couldn't see it. Her head was still in the tank.

"Anyone else cold?" Ginny asked. There was a chorus of yes's around the room. As Ginny went to speak with the fire salamander in the fireplace, Rhia looked at Harry. She reached into her bag and pulled out his robe. She offered it to him first, but he waved if off, suppressing a slight shiver. She smiled gratefully at him. Neither one said a word as she put it on.

"Second round," Fred said, a trifle less cheerfully than at the beginning of the first. "Draco, you've got a truth to tell now."

Draco nodded. Fred focused in on him and was thoughtful a moment. "What is your deepest, darkest, secret?"

Draco, already pale from the discussion of his scars, went completely white. He went so white, that Harry caught himself looking at the floor, expecting to see blood pooling there. He wasn't the only one. Draco looked at the little twins. "They leave first," he said seriously.

"No way," Reggie said. "We're Guardians too."

"But you don't need to know this," Draco said through bloodless lips.

Lynne tapped on the glass of the tank. "No way," Reggie translated.

"Anything you say will be told to them anyway. Might as well tell us all in one go." Daniel said, though he looked a little worried. They were his little sisters after all.

"She's been in that tank for ten minutes," Neville said, gesturing at Lynne.

"Go ahead and let her out," Monica said. Reggie tapped Lynne's back. She lifted her head, water sheeting off her hair. In a moments was perfectly dry.

"That was refreshing," she said cheerily.

"How…?" Ron asked.

"I am the Water Guardian," Lynne said simply. "All right Draco. Spill."

Draco nodded. The dannikits started running around the room. They each passed Draco and each touched him with a paw or a tail in support. Monica took his hand. He merely looked at her. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"Last year, during the Tri-wizard Tournament, I… I was jealous of you Harry, because you always seemed to get everything that I felt I deserved. Even though I knew how dangerous it was… perhaps because of how dangerous it was, I wanted to be one of the entrants." Draco said.

"I was only in it because Crouch had bewitched the Goblet," Harry said.

"I know that… and I figured as much then. I didn't know who had done it, just that there was no other way an underage wizard could get into the Tournament. I didn't sabotage any of the events, impossible for a student… I went to my father's study during the break to speak to him about the Tournament, to figure out how you had gotten into it. I saw his Mark then, burned black as his heart. I knew then that something was going on with Voldemort. I even overheard my father talking to someone about a Portkey… and how you had to be the one to win Harry." Draco paused. Took a deep breath. "I knew what was going on. I knew what he planned to do. But I did nothing. Told no one. And you were your usual disgustingly fair self… and shared the trophy with Cedric… and he died… and you were hurt… and Voldemort came back."


End file.
